A brother's revenge
by ErinJordan
Summary: Just when Hardy Boys are starting to move past the Aftermath of Hayden's abuse, the hospital fire, grieve for the loss of a good friend, Frank is being framed for the murder of Jack Hayden. Joe is determined to clear his brother's name and find the real killer, things started to heat up when Joe's life is threatened in A brother's revenge
1. Chapter 1

** Hi I am back with part 3 in A Brother's Revenge. **

**This first chapter picks up from the last chapter of the second story Aftermath which revealed Hayden as the third death. And there will be some characters and other mentions of my first story Pressure. So it might help to read the first two stories before reading this to get a better understanding, like the shocking murder** **of one of the Hardy boys friends in Aftermath. Just know he maybe gone in this story but he will certainly not be forgotten, he will be the driving force for Frank and Joe to get justice for their friend but first they have to go through a few hurtles.**

**I want to thank you all again for your wonderful reviews on my last two stories, It has been a busy holiday season for me and hopefully things will start slowing down, I only got the first chapter done, I do have it outline. but I am working on the second on hope to have it done as soon. Let me know what you think so far. Happy New Year!**

A Brother's Revenge Chapter 1

_ "I'm sorry Frank, as of now you are the prime suspect in the murder of Jack Hayden." __The words hung in the air as Frank digested them in disbelief. _

"Let me get this straight. Jack Hayden was murdered early this morning. Someone called the station to claim I was there? And a gun was found with my fingerprints on it. And I'm the prime suspect?" Frank reiterated the words that came out of Chief Collig's mouth.

The Chief nodded. "That's correct."

Frank couldn't believe this. He didn't want to believe this. What the hell! This has to be a nightmare. Yes, that has to be it. A nightmare. He pinched his other hand and winched realizing, no, he was fully awake and, yes, this was really happening.

He shifted his eyes at Con, to his father and then back to the Chief, "Are you here to arrest me?"

"Yes, I am sorry. We need to take you down to the station for questioning." The Chief answered reluctantly.

He didn't want to believe Frank Hardy had committed murder. As much as he hated this he had to do his job. Somehow, someway they'll get to the bottom of this and find the truth.

"You can't be serious." Joe hissed, his temper beginning to rise. He whirled around with his crutches to face the Chief of Police. He stood at Frank's side, immediately balling his hands into fists clutched them at his side, he was ready to defend his brother.

"Frank didn't kill that son of a bitch!" He exploded. "But whoever did, did the job that our _farce_ of a justice system failed to do! And now, you're going after my brother!"

"Joe, calm down," Fenton ordered.

"No! This is bullshit!"

"Joseph watch your mouth!" Fenton scolded. "Getting yourself worked up like this isn't helping things, now, calm down."

The Detective wasn't exactly thrilled about this either. Things were starting to get back to normal for his family, Fenton saw positive changes in Frank and Joe in the past two weeks. Dr. Reese was doing an amazing job at helping them move past their hellish ordeal, along with them dealing with their feelings and emotions.

Fenton knew the boys knew getting his approval to solve mysteries again was one of the things motivating them to work towards their recovery, and Fenton wanted so much for the boys to have their dream.

Frank was now a high school graduate, and on his way to Princeton in August. Fenton and Laura are beyond thrilled with Frank and Callie's engagement. They both love Callie as if she was their own daughter. She was a kind, strong and caring person. They felt all along she was the right fit for their eldest son, especially in the way she stood by Frank as he dealt with his health situation, and great support system as he deals with his depression.

They are just as thrilled for their youngest now a high school senior. Joe had started physical therapy which was helping him get back on his feet. During his recovery time they've become aware that his anxiety was better with fewer nightmares. They also noticed that Joe's been a little clingy with his brother more then usual. They think part of it had to do with the hospital fire and the fear of not knowing where Frank was during that time. And Frank was probably feeling the same way. The other part was the fact that Frank was leaving for college in August.

It was already the end of June, and July was fast approaching that meant the boys only had a limited time to spend with each other. The separation would be hard for them, but this time it wouldn't be by force but, by their choice. Fenton and Laura understood very well this was something the boys would have to work out for themselves.

They did take comfort when they saw a light in Joe's blue eyes and a smile on his face, something they hadn't seen in a long time. Come to find out from Frank that Joe has decided to start dating again. He asked out a new girl he met at school Vanessa Bender. Even though he hadn't yet met the young girl, just seeing his youngest happy gave Fenton a feeling that this girl was something special.

The hardest day for the boys was having to say good bye to their dear friend Phil Cohen. He was just glad they got through the funeral. Fenton of course was concerned with how Frank would deal with it all. He was glad that Joe and Callie sat beside him supporting him the whole time. It did make Fenton feel better when he caught Frank shedding a few tears and allowing himself to grieve and to let go.

Fenton knew the second thing motivating the boys to work on their recovery was so they could help track down Daniel Bartend and Henry Jacobs. The ones responsible for taking the lives of Phil and Seth Cohen.

However, Fenton was still reluctant in letting the boys help investigate cases. He had to consider their health above anything else. However, He and Sam sure could use their help with the two cases already on their plate. Looking into the disappearances of Daniel Bartend and Henry Jacobs/ plus helping the police with the investigation of the hospital fire.

And now on top of that Fenton had this latest headache to deal with. when the Chief and Con stopped by to drop this news in his lap telling him that Hayden was found dead. He'd been shot in the head and an anonymous caller had witnessed Frank committing the crime. The detective could not wrap his head around his son as the prime suspect.

"Dad's right, Joe." Frank was angry too. But, now was not the time for lashing out. The time was to think calmly and rationally, and figure out the truth of who killed Hayden. "You're not helping. Please stop."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Joe apologized; he was doing his best to stay calm. He took a deep breath and said, "We all know Hayden was a very hated man. He hurt a lot of people, and any number of them could've done it."

"I mean clearly he's being framed for this. What about this anonymous caller who'd had witnessed Frank committing the crime? And what about the gun, where did Frank get a gun?"

"Joe that's what we need to figure out." Fenton spoke up. "And you're right; Hayden was hated by lot of people including the people in this room. However, two wrongs don't make it right. the simple truth is someone did in fact kill him, and we need to find that someone."

"It wasn't Frank."

"Joe," The Chief cleared his throat, "I know you've all been through a lot and are still recovering from your ordeals. Believe me; I don't want to believe Frank did this."

He added calmly. "But, we can't ignore the clues that were found at the crime scene. I don't like our farce of a justice system as you call it, either. Mistakes were made, yes, but we have a chance to right our wrongs, put our mistakes behind us and do our jobs. We're not going to fail this time. We're going to do things the right way, the legal way, by crossing every T and dot every I in order to get to the bottom of this."

"It's the only way we'll find the truth." Sam spoke up, keeping his voice steady. He vowed to help clear Frank's name. There was no way in hell he killed Hayden.

"Okay so let's get on with this." Frank replied. He was ready to do what needs to be done to clear his name.

"Are you going to put Frank in handcuffs?" Joe anxiously asked the seasoned officer.

Chief Collig saw the worry in the boy's eyes. "Well, I don't see the need..." He started to say.

"No, don't do that." Frank said immediately. He was trying to put up a brave front for Joe. Deep down he was just as scared and angry. Well angry more then anything. "Please don't give me special treatment. Everything has to be done by the book, like you said." He held his hands out to the Chief. "Do what needs to be done."

Joe's mouth dropped. He was dumbfounded at his brother's response. What was he doing?

The Chief exchanged glances with Fenton.

As hard as it was for Fenton to accept he was proud of his eldest son for taking the initiative. He understood of what Frank was doing; prove to his brother our justice system isn't a total failure. Fenton gave the Chief a slight nod.

Just then Laura and Gertrude came out of the kitchen. "What's...oh, Chief I didn't know you and Con would be coming by." Gertrude said. "Would you both like a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you ma'am, but we'll have to decline." The officer replied regrettably. "I'm afraid this isn't a social visit."

Laura noticed the handcuffs around her son's wrists. "Why is Frank in handcuffs?" She started looking around the room.

She saw the hesitation in her husband's eyes and knew something was wrong. She looked at Fenton, demanding, "Fenton, what is going on?"

Fenton went up to her. He put his hand on his wife's shoulders. This was not going to go well.

Laura's face practically paled when he told her Hayden was found dead this morning. He'd been shot in the head, and the gun was found with Frank's fingerprints on it. Frank was their prime suspect.

"Frank did not do this!" Laura snapped, pulling herself away from her husband. She cast her angry eyes at the police officers. "You take those things off him now!"

"Laura, please calm down."

"I will not!"

"Laura, they need to take Frank down to the station." Fenton squeezed his wife's shoulder and took a deep breath.

"He didn't do this." She began to tear up.

"Mom, I'll be fine really." Frank replied trying to reassure his mother. "It's just a misunderstanding; we'll get it cleared up."

"Fine." Laura was trying to be so brave and not break down as she went up to give Frank a hug. Releasing her son she turned to her husband, "You do whatever it takes to bring him home".

"I will." Fenton promised her.

With that, Laura wiped the tears from her eyes and darted back into the kitchen. She couldn't watch her son being taken out of the house in handcuffs.

"Laura...," Fenton called, and started to go after her.

"Fenton," Gertrude said, putting her hand on his shoulder to stop him "She'll be alright, I'll go see to her," She looked at her eldest nephew. "You need to focus on Frank. This is a mistake. We need him home. "

Fenton gave her a slight nod as Gertrude left the room.

The Chief cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, Fenton I know this is upsetting, but we need to get Frank to the station."

"Wait, can I go with him?" Joe asked anxiously. He didn't want to leave Frank alone.

"Joe, I think it would be best if you stayed here with your mother." Fenton answered for him.

Joe didn't like that idea at all. He began shifting his legs with his crutches, he'd been standing on his leg for too long and it was starting to hurt. He winced in pain as pain shot through his leg with every move, but he didn't care if it hurt, he just wanted to be with his brother. Frank was in trouble and Joe was going to do everything he could to help him.

Joe began pleading with the officers. "Please..." his voice quivering with every word he spoke. "Chief, I won't give you any trouble; I promise...I'll do whatever you tell me". God he hated the way he sounded just now begging and pleading like some crying weak little baby. This was the time when he needed to be strong and fearless. "Frank was there for me when I was in trouble, and I have to do the same. Please."

"I'll stay with him while Frank is being questioned." Con offered.

Chief Collig felt all eyes on him. They were waiting for him to respond. And really what could he say; these boys have been through a lot. And finally he answered warily, "Alright, Joe I'll let you go. You can ride to the station with your dad and Sam. Once there you'll have to stay outside the room with Con."

"I will thank you Chief." Joe said gratefully.

"Thank you, Chief." Fenton said with gratitude.

"Little brother, don't worry." Frank frowned looking down at the cuffs around his wrists. He looked back up at Joe and gave him a small smile. "We'll get this figured out."

Joe gave him a nod and a quick hug. He released him as he watched with a heavy heart as Chief Collig read Frank his Miranda rights and then Con escorted Frank out the front door in handcuffs.

With Fenton and Sam right behind him Joe rushed to get outside with his crutches, his leg was hurting with every move he made. But he didn't care...he didn't care about anything right now other than Frank. He was more important.

Once he reached the front porch he nearly stumbled over the top step. "Joe..." Fenton and Sam caught him in time before he did.

Fenton saw tears running down his youngest son's cheek. Fenton cleared his own emotion from his throat. He gave his shoulder a light squeeze. He batted tears away from his eyes. He managed to say, "Now you heard what your brother said, not to worry and we'll get this figured out. Frank will be home soon."

"Damn straight he will." Sam added his support.

Joe felt the cool morning breeze blow through his hair as he stood in silence on the front porch with his father and Sam. He watched with anger and sadness at the sight of Con and Chief Collig escorting Frank to the back of the squad car. Con opened the door but, before Frank got in he looked up locking eyes with Joe.

All at once Frank's words flashed in his head, 'we'll get this figured out'. Joe took a deep breath to calm down. He knew he had to stay calm and focus... for Frank's sake.

Then his brother got into the backseat Con closed the door behind him. The two officers climbed in the front with the Chief at the wheel.

Joe felt himself slip into detective-mode, as the squad car began backing out of the driveway before disappearing down the road.

Joe vowed with determination. Hang on, big brother, I'll clear your name. God help me I'll clear your name.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone I want to thank you for leaving me wonderful reviews. I'm so glad you liked it. And thank you to those who are following, favorites, or just reading. And a big thank you to my beta reader you've been a big help to me with my story. I have to say I'm learning alot about the subject of depression. I'm not an expert on the subject or anything by any means, buts it's always a good tip to read about and research the topic your writing about.

Anyway in this chapter there is reference to my first story Pressure so hopefully you've read it also there's talk of depression and abuse.

A brother's revenge chapter 2

"Okay Frank just relax. We're going to keep this low key. Would you like some water, or maybe a soda?" Chief Collig asked casually sitting at the table across from the older Hardy boy.

It was going on 9 am by the time Con and the chief brought him to the station. Now he was sitting in a room with his lawyer Carl Sims and Fenton on either side of him. Sam stood against the wall across from him. Frank just sat lost in his thoughts. It was so overwhelming his brain was working hard to process it all. He was here to be questioned about a crime he's been accused of committing. Of all things, murder!

Of course, the question of motive was clear as to why anyone would hate Hayden enough to want to kill him. Like Joe had mentioned earlier, Hayden hurt people. He was abusive...manipulative...cunning... sociopath. He abused his wife and nearly killed his own son for god sake's. Not to mention the disaster of a trial that ended up making Hayden a free man. He didn't care who he hurt.

That was one of the things Frank hated most about that man...the fact that he didn't care...all Jack Hayden cared about was himself. It was true he did express thoughts of wanting to kill the man. Anyone would've given the situation they went through.

Frank looked down at the handcuffs on his wrists, all at once his mind flashed back to that day in Hayden's basement, his wrists tied to that bedpost as he laid on a dirty old bed. There was Hayden standing over him, with a belt ready to beat him in his hand.

Thankfully his father and the police had gotten there in time, because any second longer... he would've gotten his skin ripped to shreds. In truth, Frank would've allowed himself to go through that. He was ready to take it. He pleaded with Hayden to let him take it, because Joe would've gotten the belt first. There was no way in hell he would've let that happen.

Frank's never really talked about the abuse, not even with Dr. Reese. He pushed the issue aside at the time. He's never thought about it until now. After all, it was his job as the older brother to protect his little brother. It's his job to protect the people he loves and cared about.

Unfortunately, he failed to do his job so many times. Joe got hurt anyway. Frank will never forget that helpless feeling he felt watching as Hayden abused his brother with…a knife…the rats… that closet... the fear in Joe's eyes is forever ingrained in his head.

And then flash forward to two weeks ago, he made the mistake of leaving Joe. He had just left their hospital room to go confront Henry. But, damn it, he had to go make it clear to that little lunatic that he's to stay away from Joe.

And then there's Seth and Phil...Henry killed them...Damn Phil is dead! He couldn't stop it! I should've been there, but I was selfish I was going through my own shit, damn depression.

It was selfish of him to go after Ryan Hayden when he came face to face with him on their floor. But he had to. The only reason he came out of hiding for one purpose only to kill Joe. Only to have lost the younger Hayden brother during the chase.

Then to his horror when he got back to the hospital to find the second floor in a blaze of fire. The room he had shared with Joe was right above the flames. That terrifying feeling of not knowing where Joe was...I shouldn't have left him. He was up there...thank God for Officer Baker and the male orderly who'd helped Joe out of there. Thank God the firefighters had gotten to them in time. He quickly shook the thoughts out of his head.

He shifted his thoughts back to the current situation Jack Hayden's murder. Oh yes he certainly hated the man, but the difference between him and Hayden was that he would never have actually acted on it. It wasn't his way of thinking, that was Hayden's way.

And Frank Hardy will never be anything like Jack Hayden. He had nothing to hide. He was innocent. He didn't commit this crime. It was the truth he did not kill Hayden.

So there was no reason to worry, at least that's what Frank kept telling himself, because deep down he was freaking out. He had a feeling Joe was feeling the same way. So as usual Frank felt himself sliding back into his old habit. To stay in control and not allow himself to fall apart. To put up a brave and fearless front, after all he knew Joe would be watching him.

And as he told his brother, we'll get this figured out. That was a promise.

Carl Sims leaned over and asked him. "Frank, did you hear the Chief?"

Frank slowly nodded.

Carl looked at his client with concern. He still couldn't believe the urgent phone call he had gotten from Fenton. Jack Hayden was shot dead this morning. Frank was arrested and taken to the station for questioning. A mystery caller had called the police to report seeing him committing the crime. He couldn't believe it.

Of course, Carl would do whatever he could to help his client. At the moment he was just concerned about what was going on with him.

He asked him, "Frank, Are you okay?"

Frank's silence was a bit alarming, that blank stare on his face and having experienced it himself, Fenton knew exactly what was happening. This would be a lousy time for depression to rear its ugly head. It's gonna be a task keeping Frank focused on the current situation and not shut down on them.

He reached over and put his hand on top of his son's hand, "Frank," he said a little louder to get his attention, "Please you need to respond."

The touch of his father's hand jolted Frank back into the present, his handcuffs clanged as he moved. What just happened? It felt like he just zoned out or something? He looked back up at everyone, he could see the concern clear on their faces. He composed himself quickly, all while saying nothing.

Sam noted the teen's pale face and heavy breathing. He didn't think he'd ever seen Frank like this. He wasn't sure what was going on with him. Everyone just sat back waited patiently for Frank to respond.

"I'm sorry, Dad, yes, I heard him." Frank finally spoke. He felt like an idiot for zoning out like that. He had to try harder, he had to get it together. He looked at the Chief. "Thank you, but, I'm not thirsty. Can we just get on with this?"

There was a short pause in the room as the Chief exchanged concerned looks with Fenton and Carl. "Okay, Frank, but if you need a break just say so."

"Thank you, but I'm good." Frank replied taking a breath and sat back in his chair to relax.

Turning on a tape recorder Chief Collig turned to Frank and began, "Let's start by going through your morning routine. You said you went for a run this morning, correct?"

"Correct."

"What time did you leave the house?"

"I left around 5."

"Do you normally get up around that time?"

"No actually, I get up at 4."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "You get up at 4 in the morning?"

"Yep, every morning", Frank simply replied. " I used to do it only on school days, but I got so used to it became my normal routine."

"May I ask why?"

"Well if I didn't we'd never make it to school."

Carl gave him a confused look.

"It's the only way for me to get the things I need to do done." Frank sighed nonchalantly, he began explaining his daily ritual, "You see I'd have to get up around 4, throw on a pair of sweats and, go for a run," He started counting off with his fingers, "Come back before 5, take my shower get dressed and ready for school. By that time Mom or Aunt Gertrude are up and in the kitchen preparing breakfast."

Fenton noted that Frank was starting to be more relaxed and his face less pale. "But if Mom or Aunt Gertrude are out running errands or doing volunteer work at the hospital. And Dad is away working on a case. Then it's up to me to do breakfast."

Frank took a short pause before starting up again, "So about an hour before we have to leave for school, usually I have to pry Joe out of bed to get him ready to go. After he's finally up showered and dressed, he insists he has to have his strawberry Pop-tart, but oh no, he can't just eat one," He rolled his eyes and said with annoyance in his voice ,"he has to have four," He held up four fingers, "and chocolate milk before we can leave."

Frank shrugged his shoulders, "Somehow we end up being at least 15 minutes late anyway."

Sam ran a hand over his mouth to hide the smirk on his face. One would think Frank was making that up, but he's not, that's the truth. That was a typical day of antics in the Hardy house.

Carl threw Fenton a look that said "really'. Fenton closed his eyes and replied with a sigh, "Yep, it's true, Joe is very spoiled."

Frank shook his head, "Now that he's a senior he'll have to do it on his own." his handcuffs clanged as moved his wrists. "Anyway, I've done it ever since Joe started junior high...until recently I had gotten out of that routine because of the Hayden case."

He added lastly. "However, I just started getting back into going for early morning runs again. It's a part of my recovery and therapy with Dr. Reese."

"Where do you go on your runs?" The Chief asked steering back to the topic.

"To the pier on Shore Road." Frank nodded.

"Chief when and where did you say Jack Hayden was found dead?" Sam asked.

'At 5 this morning in a ditch along Shore Road on the main road that takes you to the waterfront of the docks which was accurate to what the mystery caller had reported."

"There's not a lot of traffic on that road at that time of the morning." Fenton said thinking out loud. He pointed at his son, "Frank would've come up on him at some point."

"I didn't take the main road. I did hear sirens in that area, but since I'm restricted from investigating, " Frank replied in his defense. "I avoided it and took a shortcut like I always do, there's a trail that leads to the docks."

"So that's the way you go every morning?" The Chief repeated to be sure.

Frank nodded. "Yes. Every kid who's grown up in this town knows the shortcut."

"Who all knows your route?"

"Just my family, Callie and my friends."

"Did you see or talk to anyone?"

"No. Like Dad said there aren't a lot of people out that time of the day, especially along that trail." Frank answered.

He paused for a second as a thought came to him. "Wait, a minute. Come to think of it," His handcuffs clanged as he reached up with his hand and rubbed his chin, "The last two mornings I felt like someone was watching me, but I never saw anyone." Man he hated that feeling, "Dr. Reese, did explain to me that paranoia is a symptom in some cases of severe depression."

His voice deflated at the thought. "So I don't know if I was actually being followed or just imagining it."

Fenton and Sam exchanged looks with each other. They were not liking where this was going. If no one saw Frank out on that trail then that means he didn't have an alibi.

What had Fenton even more concerned is that his son was not as alert or aware of his surroundings like he usually is. Was someone really watching him or was he being paranoid like he said? Fenton's gut feeling told him something wasn't right. Was his son's life in danger?

Just then the Chief got up from his seat and knock on the door.

Officer Baker opened the door. "Here you go Sir." he replied, coming into the room. In his hand was a plastic evidence bag and hands it to the Chief.

"Thank you Baker."

With a nod the officer left the room. The Chief goes back over to the table and placing the bag in front of Frank and everyone else could see the contents, a gun.

Fenton's face paled. That's not just any gun. It was a Glock 22. It's the kind of gun police officers normally carry.

"Do you recognize this, Frank?" The Chief asked.

Frank suddenly went quiet and his face paled. His eyes were glued to the gun. He studied every inch of it for the longest time. He couldn't believe it! No, NO, NO, Why is this happening!

Fenton wasn't sure if he was going to say anything. He hoped he wasn't shutting down on them.

Again he reached over and put his hand on top of his son's hand he felt it tremble, "Frank, talk to us. Tell us what's going on. Do you recognize the gun?"

Frank looked up at his father with a tear in his eye, "Yes, I do." his voice quivered out.

"You do?" Fenton repeated his heart was pounding out of his chest. "How?"

"It's my gun."


	3. Chapter 3

Hi I want to thank everyone again for your awesome reviews, and thank you again to those who are favorites , following, or just reading. And thank you to my beta reader for all your help and advice for my story you are awesome. :)

And to a certain reviewer I won't name names just note I will never abandon my story I'm sorry if my taking too long to update. I'm writing this as I go. And sometimes it takes me awhile but I've always got the next chapter in my head. please patient with me. thank you.

A brother's revenge chapter 3

"What do you mean this gun is yours?" Fenton asked. He took his hand off his son's hand and sat back in disbelief. "You don't own one."

"But it is." Frank replied; handcuffs clanging as he moved his hands as he shifted uneasily in his seat. "It's the gun I use every time we go to the shooting range."

He felt all eyes on him it felt like the air sucked right out of the room. He didn't understand this. How is this happening? He sniffed back his tears forcing himself to be strong. No time for falling apart, no time freaking out. "I don't know how it got to the crime scene? I swear, I didn't kill Hayden." He repeated the last part again.

"When did you last use this gun?" Chief Collig asked, trying to stay in professional. He didn't know what to make of this. It wasn't looking good for Frank.

Over the years there were times he'd butted heads with him and his brother, mostly out of his own selfish pride because he felt two teenagers were trying to show him how to do his job. In truth, the Chief had come to admire their passion when it came to crime solving; just like their father. He always thought Frank was a natural and had a bright future in any field in law enforcement.

Hopefully there was a logical explanation for this. He wanted to believe with his whole heart that the young man in front of him didn't commit this murder.

"Son, please explain." Fenton said, leaning forward working hard to keep his temper at bay. There was no reason to be angry with him. But Fenton didn't expect those words to come out of his son's mouth. Where the heck did Frank get that gun?

"When did you go to the shooting range?"

Frank looked at the gun as if it was staring back at him. He took a calming breath and forced his mind to focus on the case at hand. He couldn't fall apart, not now.

"It was, uh, two days before graduation." He tore his eyes away from the gun and cast them up at his father. "I was feeling angry and frustrated thinking about Henry. It's his fault that Phil wouldn't be there to graduate with us."

Frank felt anger flared up inside of him as that little lunatic's face came to his mind.

He was about to reveal a secret Fenton wasn't going to like. He took a breath, here goes he thought, "You know Mr. Price the vice principle? Well he took over Ryan Hayden's position as principal."

Fenton nodded wondering where Frank was going with this. He let him continue, "Anyway, he called me into his office that Monday. He told me that Phil was supposed to be the valedictorian of our class. And I came in second as class salutatorian, but since Phil..." His voice trailed off.

He cleared his throat and started again."Mr. Price offered me the honor of valedictorian. But, I turned him down. It didn't belong to me, it belonged to Phil he had the highest grade point average of our class. He worked hard for it."

Frank's stomach began churning this was the part he knew his father wasn't going to like. he said sadly, "In fact I turned down both honors because I felt I didn't deserve either one of them."

"Why wasn't your mother and I informed of this?" Fenton asked in shock, it was the first he had heard of this. What the heck was going on with his son?

"I asked Mr. Price not to say anything. I didn't want anyone to know, not even Joe." Frank slowly shook his head, he said with a frown, "Mr. Price reluctantly agreed and gave the honors to Marcie Greenly and Randy Meyers." He took a deep breath and turned his head away.

Fenton was floored by this news, he remembered the commencement and noted Frank had been quiet during that time. He let it go because he knew it was a hard day for him to get through at the loss of his best friend Phil Cohen. Thinking of that day Fenton remembered the young lady Marcie Greenly giving her speech as valedictorian and that she did honor Phil in her speech which was a thoughtful and touching moment on her part.

What had the detective floored was that his son kept something like this a secret. It was a noble and selfless thing he did in turning down those offers, valedictorian, salutatorian were commendable honors and Frank was deserving of either one. It did break his heart hearing the negative tone in Frank's voice in the way he spoke about himself.

"I was still frustrated and angry about that, and on top of everything else going on. I went for a run that morning to clear my head, but it didn't seem to help. So I had the idea of going to the shooting range. And it did help, I felt better," he added calmly, "I don't know I guess something about blasting large holes in a paper target was very therapeutic for me."

The Chief looked at him blinking after hearing his explanation, "Okay so two days before your graduation," He cut in, getting back into the conversation, "you went to the shooting range which would've been on Wednesday the 19th, correct?"

"Yes that's right, because I graduated Friday the 21st."

"At what time were you there?"

Frank thought for a minute. "3 in the afternoon."

"And where is it exactly did you go?" Carl asked his client.

"The Police Department range downtown."

"How often do you go there?"

"Dad takes Joe and me there once in a while."

Carl gave Fenton a questioning look.

Fenton nodded in agreement. He began to explain his reasoning, "That's true. My boys knew from an early age there's a gun in the house."

"It's my responsibility as a gun owner and with me in law enforcement to teach them. That their Dad's job requires him to carry one. I've shown it to them, and they've held it. And they both know where I keep it. They knew it's not a toy. I didn't want them stumbling on it by accident, because we know kids can be curious at times often end up in places they shouldn't be. "

Sam and the Chief both nodded in agreement.

"And as the boys got older and expressed interest in law enforcement I enrolled them in a couple of gun safety classes to learn respect and have proper training. And as Frank said, I take him and Joe to the shooting range every once in a while."

"Okay, I understand that," Carl replied then asked needing a question cleared up, "Don't you have to be at least 18 and accompanied and directly supervised in the shooting booth by a parent or legal guardian?"

He looked at Frank. He was trying to get the facts straight so he knew the best way to help his client. "You are 18, and someone was with you, right?"

"I'm 18 until the end of July," Frank answered, honestly and directly. "To answer your other question. Mom took Joe to his physical therapy appointment at 2pm. Aunt Gertrude was out running errands and Dad was out working on the hospital fire case. So...I went by myself." his handcuffs clanging as he moved his hands as he shifted uneasily in his seat.

"You went by yourself." Fenton stated heatedly leaning forward in his seat.

"Dad, I'm not a total idiot, yes I went myself, but I wasn't by myself. Most of the guys there know me. And Pete he was there and he did accompanied me while I shot off a few rounds."

"Who's Pete?" Carl asked curiously.

"Pete McNeal." The Chief answered. "He's in his late thirties, he use to be one of my officers. A few years back he was badly injured on the job and had to quit the force. He now works the front desk at the shooting range."

"Did you sign in a log to show you were there?" Sam brought up. He was making a mental note of everything Frank was saying. Anything that was going to help his case, so far it wasn't looking good for him.

"Yes."

"Did you sign out this gun?" He nodded coming over to the table.

"I did."

"This particular gun." Sam pointed at the weapon on the table.

Frank looked at the gun as if it was staring back at him. He took a calming breath and forcing himself again not to fall apart, not now. "I've always used this gun."

"Why this gun?" The Chief asked curiously.

"I don't know. I guess, I'm more comfortable with it." Frank replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. "It just feels good when I hold it in my hands."

Everyone sat back for a moment processing all Frank had said. Fenton still didn't know what to make of Frank's behavior. The secrets and the negative tone in his voice were really concerning to him. But right now that wasn't important. Finding out the truth and proving his son's innocence and who killed Jack Hayden. and so far everything Frank had said wasn't looking good for him. He exchanged looks with Sam and saw the concern on his face too.

Now he was dreading Frank's answer to his next question, but he knew he had to ask it. It was inevitable. Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he asked, "Please tell me you, did sign the gun back in when you were done?"

Frank looked at his father, his eyes then shifted to the Chief, Sam and Carl before returning back to his father. His head started wandering off again, his thoughts flashed to Hayden, to Henry, to Callie, to Joe...the hospital fire...the abuse, Joe's abduction...fearing he was dead...Ryan Hayden...the hospital fire again fearing Joe was...then Phil...oh God Phil...he's dead... it's all my fault...I should have been there. I should've stopped it. It's my job! Damn! People I love and care about are counting on me...I can't fail them...It's my job!

Fenton grew deeply concerned seeing the blank stare back on his son's face. He did not like this. Damn depression he cursed to himself. He had to get Frank to focus. He reached over and put his hand on top of his son's hand, "Frank, Son," he said firmly to get his attention, "Did you hear the question? This is important, you have to answer."

Again Frank zapped back into the present after feeling the touch of his father's hand, his handcuffs clanged as he moved. He looked back up at everyone, he could see the concern clear on their faces. Damn it, it happened again. What is happening to me? Am I going crazy? He composed himself quickly, all while saying nothing. Focus he told himself, you have to focus be strong...get it together.

Sam noted again of Frank's pale face and heavy breathing. His heart went out to him this kid has been through so much, being accused of murder was the last thing that needed to happen to him. It wasn't fair.

Blinking his eyes to force his thoughts away, Frank shook his head and focused on Fenton's voice. "I'm sorry, dad," He cleared his throat. "What was the question?"

Fenton sighed wearily and asked again, "Did you sign the gun back in?" He prayed with all his might that the answer would be yes.

But again Frank shifted nervously in his seat. If his hands were free he'd be running them through his hair. Finally he answered with a sigh," When I was done with the gun I did turn it back in at the front desk. Pete walked back to the desk with me. I told Pete I was running late for an appointment of my own with Dr. Reese. Pete said he'd take care of it. So I laid the gun on the counter and left."

Fenton's stomach felt like it dropped down to his feet. He risked another glance at Sam and saw the concern on his face too. He must be thinking it too. This was not good. at this point, it was unclear whether the gun was signed back in. he looked down at the weapon in question. This has to be a mistake, he prayed with all his might that it wasn't this gun. But his gut was telling him otherwise.

"So what happens now." Frank asked, looking at the chief, but he already knew the answer to that question. He knew he wasn't leaving this station.

Chief Collig hated the next part, and as much as he like Frank, it made it that much harder to do his job, he didn't want to do it, but there was no choice. It had to be done. He had a job to do. He cleared his throat, "Frank, I'm sorry but, I'm going to have to book you."

FJFJFJFJFJFFJ

Joe sat outside of the room with his crutches propped up against the wall waiting patiently, well he as patient as he could be, after all patience wasn't his strong suit. But he wasn't going to lie, he was anxious over what was going on with Frank.

He wasn't allowed to sit in on the questioning with Frank. He still couldn't believe it, that his brother was even here being interrogated in question of the murder of Jack Hayden. He knew without a doubt that Frank didn't kill that man.

His blue eyes shifted to the door of the room. He wished he could see right through it. What was going on in there? How his brother was holding up in there. He had a bad feeling he couldn't explain it was that same old familiar feeling that something was wrong with Frank. Joe wanted so much to burst into the room just to make sure he was alright. But he promised the Chief he wouldn't interfere or cause any trouble.

Of course, Joe told himself his brother was in good hands after all his father was in there. Dad wouldn't let anything happen to him. He'd see that Frank was alright. Sam and Carl Sims were in there too. They were doing their best to help him. And Chief Collig was in there too.

Although, the younger Hardy has had his share of moments with the chief of police. Butted heads with him over things he didn't agree with. When Joe first met the Chief he thought he was old fashioned, stuck in his ways of doing things and a bit of a hard ass.

It drove him crazy because the Chief didn't see him and Frank as equals but, only as amateur detectives, or a couple of 'nosy kids' trying to play cops he would call them. Joe supposed that was true in a way, he thought, after all when a couple of 'nosy kids' end up solving a case or two that the Bayport police department couldn't solve. It probably did bruise the Chief's ego a bit.

But over time Joe has come to like the Chief and respected him and the fact he does his job well. He also found Chief Collig to be a good and caring man. He cares about his town and the people here.

He remembered after he got arrested for hitting Hayden at school. Even though he knew the Chief had hated that part of having to do his job to arrest him, he still treated Joe with kindness, respect, fairness. And above all he believed he was innocent of the crime, even though he couldn't come out and actually say it.

Keeping his eyes glued to that door, Joe knew that Chief Collig was treating Frank the same way. So he had to trust that. Right now he just wished the damn door would open. He wanted to know what was going on. He just wanted to be with his brother.

"How long is this going to take?" He murmured.

As promised Con was standing next to him as they waited. He still couldn't believe Frank was their prime suspect in Hayden's murder. He wanted so much to believe he didn't commit this crime. There was no way.

"I'm sure it won't be too long. It's been only an hour." He tried to reassure the younger Hardy boy.

Joe just nodded, never taking his eyes off that door.

Then Officer Baker came rushing down the hallway grabbing Joe and Con's attention. They saw he was carrying something in his hand.

Joe's face paled it looked like an evident bag containing a gun. That's not good. He saw the Chief opened the door and Baker had handed the evident bag to the Chief, then Baker left and the door closed with the Chief disappearing inside.

"That's not good, isn't it?" He asked Con worriedly.

The officer just shook his head. He wished he had an answer for him, "I don't know." was all he could give him.

Fenton stepped out of the room with Sam both with grim looks on their faces. "Dad?" Joe finally spoke up.

Ignoring his crutches, he quickly stood up causing his leg to hurt. Con held on to him to support him and asked, "When are we getting Frank out of here?"

For a moment it looked like his father was going to bust out in tears. Joe didn't like that. He didn't like that at all. He had a bad feeling about this.

Just then Carl stepped out of the room, his brown leather briefcase in hand. "Fenton, I promise to do everything in my power to help Frank."

"Thank you Carl. I know you will." Fenton answered simply.

"Would you like me to explain things to Joe?"

"No, you better let me."

"Okay, I'll speak to you tomorrow." Carl replied before he left the police station.

'Explain, what?" Joe stepped up to his father and looked at him straight in the eye. "Please, tell me Frank's coming home? It was a misunderstanding, right?"

Fenton managed to say calmly as he could, shaking his head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Joe, There's a bail hearing for tomorrow morning."

He was doing his best to fight the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. He didn't even know how he was going to tell Laura. "Frank will have to remain here." He didn't want to leave his eldest son here locked up in a cell. He was worried how he'll handle it. At the same time Frank can't be locked up with other inmates.

"No!" Joe exploded, at once expressing the same thoughts his father was thinking. "He can't! He'll be in there with all those criminals that we helped put away! They will kill him the first chance they get!"

"Joe, I assure you that won't happen. Frank will be well taken care of. You have my word on it." Con offered the distraught teenager. "He'll be in a cell away from everyone else."

"He'll be alone." Joe seethed through clenched teeth. "That's even worse."

"Little Brother."

Joe looked up to see Frank standing in the doorway with Chief Collig next to him. "Are those damn things necessary!" He snapped, noticing the handcuffs on his brother's wrists.

He looked pale and he had that far away look in his eyes that Joe's come to recognize, when he's going through depression. It made him want to cry. He didn't want to see his big brother and protector like this. He was biting his lip to stop himself from breaking down, he had to be brave. He couldn't cry here.

"Please don't lock him up! Damn it, He didn't do this! "

"Joe, take it easy..." Fenton started to reprimand him.

"It's okay Fenton," Chief Collig cut in. "Joe, I'm sorry, I..."

"I know you're just doing your job." Joe immediately threw his arms around Frank pulling him into a hug. He said whispering in his ear, "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise." He refused to break down. He was going to be strong for Frank.

"Don't worry about me Joe. I can handle this". Frank said calmly refusing to break down. He was going to be strong for Joe. Then he whispered back in Joe's ear, "we'll get this figured out."

A few minutes later after his father and brother reluctantly left Frank had been fingerprinted and his picture taken, and escorted to a cell by Con.

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and lying on a cot. Frank looked up at the iron bars staring back at him. He was in a jail cell at the Bayport Police Department!

He sat up and swung his legs over the cot. How did this happen? I don't understand? I didn't do this! He was being set up, that was what his gut was telling him. That was the only logical explanation for this mess. But who?

He suddenly felt a swish of emotions come over him, anger, sadness, loneliness, he couldn't hold it in. He hated feeling like this. He felt himself breaking, but as he looked around his cell. He was alone. No one would see him break.

He placed his elbows on his knees, burying his face in his hands. "God, help me I didn't kill Jack Hayden." With that he let the tears flow.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, first off,l I apologize for taking long to update had stuff to take care of, second want to thank **you** everyone again for your wonderful reviews and comments. And thank you to those who are following and favorites or just reading. And thank you to my beta reader you are awesome.

And to a certain reviewer** (RL)** if you go to my profile page **ErinJordan ** and click on** PM** which means **(private messaging)** I will do my best to answer your questions. Instead of asking me through the **review** part that's really not what it's for, the review part is for reviewing a person's story. the only way I will answer your questions is if you **PM** me. And yes I am working on my story again be patient. I will post when I'm ready. Thank you.

A brother's revenge chapter 4

The warm morning breeze hit Fenton as he walked out the front door of the police station with Joe. Summer was almost here but instead of enjoying it was already off to a rocky start with Hayden's Murder.

Fenton stayed at Joe's side to make sure he made it safely down the steps with his crutches. Once they reached the bottom step Joe paused and turned around to look back at the doors. Fenton noted the worried look on his son's face. He didn't have to say a word. He knew his thoughts were on Frank, because he was thinking of him too.

"Frank's going to be alright Joe." He put a comforting arm around him. Fenton looked back at the doors, he didn't want to leave him in there either. "He's in good hands. The Chief and Con will keep an eye on him. Right now we have to be strong for Frank."

Joe just nodded.

"Come on, let's get going." Fenton said as they made their way to his car.

He held the passenger door open as Joe eased himself into the seat. Once Joe was inside and all situated Fenton shut the door and placed the crutches in the backseat. Then went around to the front and got in behind the wheel. He started the car but didn't go anywhere. His hands firmly gripping the wheel so tight turning his knuckles white. He glanced at the clock it read 10:00 AM on the dashboard.

Sam already left a few minutes ago. He had received word on the hospital fire case and had gone to check it out. In fact, Fenton had turned that case over to Sam because he needed to stay focused on clearing Frank. And Sam was fine with that, promising to keep his partner informed of what he found out.

Fenton just sat there lost in thought. There was no doubt in his mind that Frank was innocent. He didn't kill Hayden and damn it, he was going to prove it. However, he still couldn't get over Frank's behavior of being distracted and keeping secrets from them. He's he was overwhelmed by everything that's that had happened to him and Joe in the past two weeks.

That had to be it, Fenton thought, and with depression in the middle of it, it wasn't making things easy on him. Fenton just hoped with everything in him that Frank will find the strength in him to get through this latest hurdle with his sanity intact.

"Dad?"

Pushing his thoughts aside, Fenton loosened his grip on the wheel and turned his head to his younger son in the passenger seat. "Yeah." He replied.

'Will you tell me what was said in that room?" Joe asked, he needed answers.

"I know I'm restricted from detective work. But don't you think I at least have the right to know what's going on with my brother? When he came out of the room. He didn't look good, his face was pale and he had that far away look in his eyes."

He rubbed his chest, "Something's wrong with Frank, I can feel it. We can't leave him in there too long. We have to get him out." Joe turned back to the police station. Everything in him wanted to run back in and break Frank out of there. But he knew it would make things worse.

Joe looked at Fenton again. "So will you tell me?" He asked slowly while fidgeting in his seat.

Fenton thought for a moment. Joe had every right to know what's going on with his brother. It was bad enough that he was being separated from Frank yet again. It would be cruel to keep things from him. That special bond that the two of them share was back stronger than ever.

However Joe was another worry for him. That display of emotions he had shown in the police station meant his level of anxiety was already on the surface. Joe could be unpredictable at times when he wanted to be, especially when it comes to being separated from Frank and knowing he's in trouble.

The only thing Fenton could do at this point was to be straight forward and tell Joe the truth.

"Alright." He rubbed his eyes then ran his hand over his face, he said with a sigh, "Frank just seemed distracted, I know he's got a lot going on in his head, but, I had to keep him focused the whole time he was being questioned."

Fenton kept going leaving out the part of Frank turning down the honors of salutatorian and valedictorian. That was something he felt Frank should be the one to tell Joe.

Joe listen intently as his father began filling him in all Frank had said from his routine this morning, starting with going for his run at 5AM. Joe didn't like that fact Frank didn't have an alibi. He did know the route his brother takes by heart, and every kid in this town knows the shortcut. It's the quickest way to get to the water.

Then Fenton went on to tell him about the gun the police have in their possession. It was the same gun Frank stated he uses anytime he goes to the shooting range. The police believed it's the murder weapon found at the crime scene with Frank's fingerprints on it, he also told Joe about Frank's trip to the shooting range two days before his graduation and Pete.

The startling part Frank had mentioned was the possibility of someone watching him in the last couple of days. The only problem was Frank didn't know if he was just experiencing a bit of paranoia or if someone was actually watching him.

Joe sat back mulling over everything. As far as not alert or aware of his surroundings, that did not sound like his big brother at all. Frank is always alert, knows his surroundings. He's very meticulous about that sort of thing. If he heard the slightest snap of a twig breaking, he's on it checking it out to make sure everything was safe.

Paranoia? No that's not it. Not even close. Joe wasn't going to accept it.

Ever since he found out Frank was dealing with depression and that it was a family trait, Joe had made it a point to read up on depression on the internet. During his sessions with Dr. Reese Joe would ask her questions to better understand it in order to know how to help Frank.

The doctor did answer his questions even though she couldn't talk about what went on during her sessions with Frank due to privacy reasons. And Joe was fine with that, he was just glad she was helping his brother.

Joe still didn't quite understand it all, but maybe Frank's depression wasn't severe...and maybe he just has a lot on his mind... after all aside from being meticulous, Frank is also a very intelligent person, very smart...a thinker, he's a Brainiac...his brain was just overloaded with stuff that needed to be sorted out. And Frank will sort things out his way. That was a part of who Frank Hardy is.

Although Joe had dealt with a bit of mental illness of his own through PTSD and maybe the two aren't quite the same thing. He thought his PTSD had gotten better, that is until the hospital fire...he thought the abuse he endured from Hayden and his abduction and the gun shot to his leg that almost cost him his life was the most terrifying moment for him. But it wasn't, it was the not knowing where Frank was at the time. Before that there was Henry aiming a gun at his brother's head with the intent of killing him.

Joe felt a slight shiver down his spine just thinking about how many times he almost lost his big brother. Having Frank out of his sight is terrifying to him. He didn't want to leave his side. What if something happens...what if the next time...no, no, he shook his head that's not going to happen...he wouldn't let it.

And there was no way his brother was imagining anything, someone had to be watching him. Whoever that someone is had to be connected to Hayden's murder. Until Frank can get himself together and sort things out in his head, Joe was going to look out for him. No way in hell he was going to lose Frank.

"Let's hope Pete did sign Frank's gun back in." Joe concluded with some thoughts of his own. 'However the thing with Pete doesn't make any sense."

"We could go talk to Pete?"

"We?"

"Yeah we, as in you and...me." Joe suggested slowly hoping his father will say yes.

His father just looked at him. Joe knew that look well, it was the same look every time he was about to say no. It was probably on the tip of his tongue. That meant Joe had to act fast he began pleading his case before his father could say that word.

"I'm doing fine, really. Dr. Reese even said so. You can call and ask her." He nodded at the crutches laying down in the backseat. "And physical therapy that's going good too, hardly need my crutches at all." He shifted in his seat to give Fenton his full attention, however the move caused a slight twinge in his leg. He quickly forced that out of his head.

"I'm with you so I can't get into any trouble." Joe added hoping to convince his father. "With Sam working on the other case, you need me. And, this is different this is for Frank. He's in trouble. I want to help."

"So please can I?" He smiled at Fenton.

Fenton suppressed a smile. Joe was good, really good, he'll give him that. He's very smart probably more than he'd like to let on. So full of determination, always ready to debate his reasoning to make sure you see his point of view. He could almost see Joe's detective instincts kicking in.

"Fair enough." He said finally, "As long as you don't overdo it and you do what I tell you."

"Deal." Joe smiled, inwardly he was screaming, yes! Hold on Frank we're going to clear your name yet.

(FJFJFJFJFJF)

A few minutes later Fenton pulled his car into a parking spot in front of the Police Department range. As soon as he got out of the car Joe started to rush to get inside with his crutches, causing his leg to hurt, but then Fenton put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look, that told him to slow down and take it easy.

Once inside they headed to the reception area on the left side of the room. To the right was a retail area with a display of tee shirts, ball caps with the logo on them hanging on racks. As they approached the desk, a balding, plump middle aged man was sitting behind it eating a bag of potato chips. He swallowed the contents in his mouth and looked up from his computer screen. He smiled when he saw them.

"Well if it isn't Fenton and Joe Hardy!" His boisterous voice boomed out with a laugh. "Its been awhile since I've seen you two here. How you been?" He put the bag of chips on the desk and stood up brushing the crumbs off his Hawaiian shirt.

Fenton sighed wearily. Harry Garrett a retired cop and a nice guy, but can be very outspoken and a bit of a slob. "We're...ah good. Thank you Harry for asking." Fenton managed politely, as he and Joe stepped up to the desk. "I know it's been awhile. We've been busy." He said to put it mildly.

Harry nodded, "I understand, with the hospital fire and all. People are still talking about it." He cast his eyes at Joe's crutches. "Joe, dang, what happened to you?"

Joe raised an eyebrow suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable. "It's kind of a long story," Joe replied, holding his crutches tightly as he shifted his legs from one to the next.

Fenton stepped in immediately to get the attention off of Joe. "Harry, we're looking for Pete. Is he here?"

"Good Ol' Pete, yeah he's here." Harry answered.

Joe breathed easier grateful to have the attention off him. He really didn't want to explain the ordeal of how he got shot in the leg.

Harry pointed his chubby thumb at a door that led to the shooting range. "He's giving a lesson in one of the shooting booths. They should be done soon. I'm here watching the desk for him."

Fenton nodded. "Okay, thank you." He asked while they waited for Pete. "Harry, were you here on June the 19th, by chance?"

Harry thought for a minute. He scratched his chin, "um, yeah I was here."

"Did you happen to see my other son Frank come in here? It would've been on a Wednesday around 3 in the afternoon."

"Yeah I seen him."

"Really," Fenton replied, " How did he seem to you? Was he acting different? Did you talk to him?" He wanted to get an idea of Frank's behavior from the perspective of the people who were here that saw Frank that day.

"Actually I was leaving when your son walked in. So I didn't have a chance to talk to him, other than a quick hey." Harry recalled. "However, Pete was at the desk, you might want to ask him." Then he knitted his brows together and asked with concern, "Is Frank alright? I hope nothing's wrong. "

"Fenton, Joe?" A male voice cut in before Fenton or Joe could respond to Harry's question.

Joe turned to see a man late thirties with sandy blonde hair, he wore a blue t-shirt with the logo printed on the front and a pair of khaki pants walk in with a bit of a limp. Pete McNeal.

"Hey, good to see you." Pete shook hands with Fenton. Then he extended his hand to Joe.

"It's good to see you, too." Joe replied accepting his handshake. He knew it was impolite but he couldn't help but cast his eyes at the man's prosthetic leg.

He knew Pete use to be a police officer for Bayport PD. And he heard the story from his father. A few years ago Pete was out on patrol during a routine stop, he had pulled over two men in a vehicle for a busted taillight. It turned out the suspects were wanted in several states for outstanding warrants for drug possession. One of the men pulled out a gun during a struggle and shot Pete in the leg. He almost died... thankfully he survived, however he ended up losing his leg. The two men were caught later on and taken to jail. Sadly, Pete had to quit the force, he managed to get a job here at the shooting range to help support his wife and a young son.

Joe looked down at his leg, he felt a little guilty, for it was not that long ago that he had almost shared the same fate. Thankfully he survived and still had his leg intact, but Pete even though he survived his ordeal he still lost a part of himself.

"Ah, Pete, Fenton and Joe came by to see you." Harry's voice boomed out snapping Joe out of his thoughts.

"Ah thank you Harry, and thank you for watching the desk." Pete said. "I can take over now."

'Sure thing." the plump man replied. "I think I'll go grab some lunch." He patted his stomach. With that he left after saying a quick good bye to Fenton and Joe.

"Sorry about that. I needed someone to watch the front desk and Harry offered to help me out." Pete walked around the desk and frown picking up Harry's bag of chips and discarding in the trash can.

"Not a problem." Fenton replied relieved the plump man was gone.

Pete asked turning his attention to the Hardys. ''So, you two wanted to see me about something?"

"We do." Fenton quickly asked him about the 19th of June.

Pete thought for a second. "Yes, I was here, and I saw Frank."

"How did he seem to you?"

"Um, not very talkative at first, kind of quiet, as if he had a lot on his mind. And I could tell something was bothering him. When I asked him if anything was wrong, all he said was he needed to get rid of some frustration. So he came here."

"Is that why you're here? I'm sorry if that's a problem. Frank had asked me, since you weren't with him, if I would supervise him while he shot off a few rounds. I knew he was a responsible young man and I didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't have a problem with that." Fenton replied. "I just have some questions that needs clearing up."

"Did he sign the log to show he was here?"

"Yes,"

"Could we see it?"

Pete gave Fenton and then Joe a curious look. "Sure come with me." He said slowly. He asked another employee to watch the front desk as he took Fenton and Joe through the set of doors he just came from. Following right be hide his father Joe glanced at a side hallway to the left that led to the locker rooms and showers. Then to the right Pete guided them over to a counter sitting right be hide it were showcases many types of guns that can be tried out at the range. There was another set of doors to the right that led to the actual range itself.

Pete walked around and pulled out a large black ledger from under the counter. He placed it on the countertop.

Joe watched Pete flip through a few pages and then stopped, "Ah here we go.' He said pointing at a page. "Frank Hardy signed in on the 19th of June."

Fenton and Joe saw Frank's name on the page. Okay, that's a plus they thought.

"What gun did he sign out?" Joe asked feeling his heart pounding.

"A Glock 22. Like he usually does."

"Frank said he was late for an appointment. He laid the gun on the counter, you told him you'd take care of it." Fenton sighed wearily. He was about to ask the inevitable question. "Did it get signed back in?"

"Let's see." Pete ran his finger across the page then stopped and all at once his face went pale. "Oh no." He gasped. He whirled around to the gun showcases be hide him. His hand went right to an empty spot, 'Oh shit."

'What's wrong?" Fenton asked anxiously. His heart stopped when he saw the hesitation in his friend's eyes. "Pete, we need to know," He braced himself for the bad news that was coming.

Joe didn't like the sound of that. Pete whirled back around to face the Hardys. He let out a heavy sigh as he answered, "The gun is missing."


	5. Chapter 5

Hello I want to thank you all for leaving me wonderful reviews, following, favorites, or just reading along, you are awesome. and to my beta reader thank you for your help with my story you are awesome. Here is my next chapter hope you like it. And there is some rough language towards the end. let me know your thoughts.

A brother's revenge chapter 6

"The gun is missing."

Pete whirled back around at the gun case his eyes zeroed in on the empty spot. He turned around back at the Hardys. He raked a hand through his hair. "I could've sworn I turned it in. " He began panic riddled in his voice., "It's not here. Oh Shit. This isn't good...losing a gun is not good... Chief Collig...h-he helped me get this job after the incident. I need this job."

"That's the least of your worries?" Joe snapped. He was trying hard not to panic, but he lost it. "You were supposed to turn the gun it. Frank gave it to you! How can you be so freaking careless!"

He pointed an accusing finger at Pete. "Frank's being accused of murder and its all your fault!" It was taking everything in him not to leap over the counter and beat the living hell out of Pete.

Pete's eyes widen. "Murder." He gasped taking a step back from the counter.

"Joe stop. That's enough." Fenton reprimanded him. As calmly as he could manage without losing his temper, he pulled Joe back from the counter.

"But Dad..."

"Take a step back, calm down before you say anything else." Fenton cut him off.

Hearing the serious tone in his father's voice, Joe did as instructed. He took a step back to cool his temper, his eyes never leaving Pete. Both of his hands were clutched around his crutches furiously at his side.

Turning his attention back to Pete, Fenton calmly said, "I'm sorry about that Pete. Our emotions are all over the place at the moment."

"No actually, I'm the one who should apologize. Joe's right it's my fault. I've been under a lot of stress lately. " Pete swallowed a lump in his throat. He carefully stepped up to the counter.

"Money has been tight because of my medical bills. I refuse to go on disability, because I don't want charity. On top of that, Linsey informs me that she's pregnant. My son Trevor is starting first grade in the fall. He wants to play soccer, he's excited about it. I want to make sure he is happy and has everything he needs."

He shook his head rapidly. "losing that gun..." Then he stopped and looked at Joe then Fenton. "What did Joe mean about Frank being accused of murder?"

Remaining quiet, Joe stood where he was glaring at Pete.

Fenton really didn't want to bring this up just yet, but thanks to Joe's outburst he had no choice. He lowered his voice and began to explain to him of the murder of Jack Hayden this morning. And about the same gun in question. "The police believed it's the murder weapon found at the crime scene with Frank's fingerprints on it." He finished feeling disgusted by the idea.

"Oh my God, you mean," Pete gulped nervously. "Frank stole..."

"No!" Joe shouted cutting him off from finishing that sentence. He took a step forward but Fenton restrained him.

"Joe, I didn't mean...to accuse Frank." Pete apologized stepping back. "It's just how else could the gun have ended up at the crime scene?"

"Simple. Someone else took it." Joe countered back. His temper still festering inside of him. He added, "Just so we're clear Frank didn't do it."

"Fenton, I'm sorry, I..." Pete stuttered.

Fenton held up his hand to stop him. "Okay let's all take a minute to calm down." Fenton intervened, Even though he felt the need to defend Frank and to yell at Pete for what he was implying. He had to keep things calm and rational.

"Pete, why don't you take us back to June 19th?" He suggested quickly taking charge of the matter. "Frank handed you the gun after he was done with it, correct?"

"That's right he was running late, I told him I'd take care of it."

"Okay think back. You had the gun in your hand, What did you do with it?"

Pete took a few minutes to think. "Um after Frank had left. I brought the gun back here." He placed his hand on top of the counter. Then his eyes widened. he said excitedly, "Now I remember, as I came in here to put the gun away there were two guys just coming down the left hallway of the locker rooms. They were arguing and things started to escalate because one of them raised his fist at the other one.'

Pete looked regrettably at Fenton. "I must have laid the gun on the counter to deal with that situation. I forgot about it." He shook his head. "That was careless and stupid of me to do that. Like I said, I'm under a lot of stress."

"Careless and stupid, you got that right." Joe scoffed rolling his eyes.

"Joe." Fenton said with a sigh. He noticed the security camera on the wall above the counter. "Let's find out exactly what happened to that gun."

Joe and Pete followed the detective's gaze up at the security camera. "Of course." Pete gasped.

"Yes, let's." Finally, Joe thought this could be the break they'd been waiting for. Hopefully we'll find out who stole that gun. And Frank will be cleared.

Pete took them to a small security room, he went over to a monitor and a keyboard on a table in the center of the room. Fenton and Joe right behind him.

On the monitor they could see the screen was split in five different sections of the building. Section 1 showed a room that looked like a bowling alley with lanes and partitions separating each one at the head. The actual range itself. Section 2 was the front lobby, section 4 showed the left hallway that led to the locker room. And in the middle was section 5 the part that showed the counter where you sign in and the gun cases.

They watched as Pete hit a few keys. He pulled up footage on the center monitor on the corner of the screen marked June 19th, the time was 3:00 pm. In Section 5: There they saw Harry sitting lazily at the counter cleaning his left ear with a pencil and wiping it on his shirt.

Eww, Joe thought in disgust. Then the plump man picked up a soda can and took a large gulp of the drink before putting it down, then he wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve and picked up a magazine. He looked at his watch and got on his feet and tucked the magazine under his arm and headed out of the room.

How that man got to be a cop, Fenton shook his head, he'll never know.

"Okay...mental note have a talk with Harry." Pete said slowly, "Let's move on shall we." Next they saw a dark haired young man in blue jeans and a red long sleeve shirt with the sleeves pulled up to his elbows walk in the room.

"There!" Pete pointed to the screen, "There's Frank."

Fenton and Joe lean closer sure enough it was Frank. they watched him walk up to the counter as Pete stepped in behind it cleaning up Harry's trash. After that he greeted Frank and then Frank began signing the log and Pete handing him the gun from the gun case. Then the two headed for the double doors out to the range.

They saw Frank with Pete next to him shooting off a few rounds. After he was finished Frank and Pete walked back to the counter to turn in the gun.

Joe watched closely as his brother handed the gun to Pete and leaves the room.

A few seconds later, Pete walked over to the counter with the gun. "And there's the two guys I was telling you about." He pointed.

Fenton and Joe saw the two young men coming out of the locker rooms in a heated argument then at one point one of the men whirled around and raised his fist at the other guy. Pete hearing the commotion puts the gun on counter and goes over to stop the fighting. Fenton's eyes went back to the gun on the counter.

They had to do a double take, because of what they saw next. With in seconds a dark haired figure his face was away from the camera he picks up the gun off of the counter and rushes out of the room.

No can't be. Joe said under his breath. He couldn't take his eyes off the screen. "Is there any way to make this any clearer."

"No, I'm sorry." Pete replied regrettably. "This is about as good as it gets."

Damn. Joe cursed under his breath. He glanced over at his father he too couldn't take his eyes off the screen either. The dark haired figure was wearing the same clothing Frank had on.

Fenton suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Dear God please tell me it's not true. "Dad, what do you think?" He heard Joe ask him.

"I don't know." Was all Fenton could manage to say. He straightened up and began thinking of what to do next.

As a father he didn't want to do what he was about to do especially when it involves his son. It hurt him to the core of his heart to even think of Frank as a suspect. However as a detective that is what it looked like. He knew what had to be done. He had no choice. And he knew he was going to get resistance from Joe. Again there was no choice. He took a breath and with a strong and steady voice. "Pete can you make two copies of this?"

"Yes of course."

Joe straightens up looking at Fenton strangely. "Two, why do you need two?"

Here we go, he thought. "One so we can try to get the footage enhanced so we can see the person more clearly." Fenton paused to prepare himself to say the next part. "And two to give to Chief Collig as evidence."

Then he counted to himself one, two, three..."What!" That was the reaction he was expecting from Joe, and Joe didn't disappoint.

"Dad you can't!" Joe shouted. He stabbed a finger at the monitor. "That guy is not Frank!"

Joe didn't understand this. How could his father do this. "You can't give this to the Chief. This makes Frank look even more guilty. We are supposed to be proving his innocence, not get him convicted! What that hell are you thinking!"

"I'd suggest you lower your tone right now." Fenton said biting back his temper. "I don't want to do this, but I have to. It's the right way. Joe, we can't withhold evidence."

"The right way, oh in other words, you mean the legal way." Joe argued. "That is why you're doing this. You're telling me, you're throwing Frank your own son under the bus, for your so-called justice system."

"No that is not what I'm doing. I do believe Frank is innocent." Fenton replied his temper simmering. "I don't believe he committed murder. But until we can get the footage enhanced. This is what we're looking at."

"Okay, Fenton, I got both copies for you." Pete announced after a few minutes handing Fenton two CD cases.

"Thank you Pete." Fenton said looking down at the discs' in his hand. With a heavy heart Fenton looked back up at his son he put a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Go outside and wait for me."

"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell and be disrespectful," Joe apologized, acting ashamed of his actions. He pleaded in tears. "Please don't give the Chief the other copy."

Fenton swallowed the lump in his throat, pushing his emotions aside. "Go outside."

"Fine." Joe said heatedly. "But, If this gets Frank convicted, I'll never forgive you." Then he turned around and headed for the door.

FJFJFJFJFJFFJ

Monday that afternoon, Con entered the cell block carrying a fast food bag and a soda. He stopped until he came to Frank's cell. He spotted the older Hardy boy dressed in an orange jumpsuit sitting on the floor with his knees up to his chest and his arms around them. He had the saddest look on his face.

The officer's heart went out for him. Frank shouldn't be here. He's a good guy. He didn't deserve this. God the truth had to come out some how. Frank didn't commit murder.

He took a breath. He opened the cell and stepped inside. Not wanting to startle him, "Frank." He gently called to him.

Frank looked up at him and gave him a half smile.

"How are you doing?" Con noted his eyes were red and swollen as if he'd been crying.

"Peachy."

Con just nodded. He crouched down next to him. "Well hey, I thought you might be hungry. Brought you a cheeseburger and fries. And here's a soda." He sat them on the floor in front of Frank.

Frank just glanced at them. "Thank you, but, I'm not hungry."

"Oh come on, you have to eat something, I know the food here isn't all that great, that's why I went out and got you this. You got to keep up your strength." Con encouraged him. "Besides I don't want Joe thinking we're not taking care of you."

"Oh no, we wouldn't want to do that," Frank murmured. "Can't disappoint Joe."

He reached in to the bag and took out a French fry. He popped it in his mouth chewing it slowly and cast his sad eyes at the floor. "Although I've been doing that a lot lately."

Unclear of what to make of the comment, Con raised a brow. "I don't think that's true. That kid thinks highly of you. You're his hero. He's going to stick by you no matter what."

"That's just it." Frank said taking another fry out of the bag. "I'm not a hero. Joe puts me on such a high pedestal. I mean he once told me that I out rank Spider-Man."

Con just smiled at the comment letting Frank continue, "I try to live up to the expectation of what he wants me to be. But I'm not that person anymore. I'm tired of letting everyone down. Joe, my parents, Callie, P-hil...," His voice trail off. He stopped eating and threw a fry back into the bag. Then announced, "I'm tired, I don't want to do this anymore. I think I'm going to lay down."

"Okay, just make sure you eat something." Con said slowly taking it as his cue he got to his feet.

Frank got to his feet and laid on his bed and closed his eyes shutting the world out. Con stepped out of the cell closed the door. He looked back at Frank he didn't know exactly what was going on with him, but, his gut instinct told him not to leave him.

He took his phone out of his backpack and started texting Fenton. "Frank needs you."

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

_"Good evening, I am Cynthia Fletcher of NBN Bayport news. With the latest...__" A _young, female anchorwoman said from behind the news desk. "A body was found early this morning in a ditch along Shore Road."

_"The body was identified as 57 year old Jack Hayden a former teacher of Bayport High school. Sources say the man was on trial for allegedly attempted murder and abuse charges just two weeks ago, but the trial was later declared a mistrial do to complications and lack of evidence."_

_"It as also been reported that authorities do have the murder suspect in custody 18 year old __Frank Hardy son of Detective Fenton Hardy...'click'_

The dark haired figure turned off the television grinning from ear to ear. He stood by his bed and began stuffing his red shirt and jeans into a garbage bag. Then went over to the closet open the door and threw the bag inside.

"DAMN!" A man's voice roared from the living room. The dark haired figure jumped at the sound of objects being thrown and glass shattering to pieces. "FUCK YOU FRANK HARDY YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

The dark haired figure kept the grin on his face, very pleased with that outburst from his uncle he ran a hand through his hair before closing the door and went over to the bed. He laid down on his pillow with his hands clasped behind his neck lost in his thoughts looking up at the ceiling. Paybacks a bitch.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi, I'm sorry for the long delay had a lot going on, Thank you all again for your wonderful reviews, following and favorites or just reading. Please say a pray for my beta reader I haven't heard from her in awhile and I'm kind of concern. Here is my new chapter sorry for any grammar mistakes I tried to edit and fix my mistakes. Let me know what you think? oh and there is some rough some language in here.

A brother's revenge chapter 6

"You stupid worthless bastard! You were supposed to pick him up!"

Hearing the commotion, Henry Jacobs stepped out of the small bedroom dressed in his black t-shirt with a red Spider-Man symbol on it and black jeans. He touched a hand to the bandage covering the flesh wound on his left arm. The wound was healing nicely; Carolyn would clean and change the bandage for him. It was an ugly reminder of the fight and his hatred for Frank Hardy.

Shaking the thought out of his head he hurried into the living room and stopped in his tracks. His uncle Ryan had Daniel Bartend shoved against the wall. His brown eyes were blazing hot as he directed them at Bartend.

The room was completely trashed; broken glass was strewn everywhere from a turned over coffee table. Tempers were bound to flare up after all; they'd been cooped up for the last two weeks in this three bedroom lodge cabin, several miles outside of Bayport.

The place was so perfect, almost invisible. So secluded, no one would think to look for them here...it just had a few minor problems, it belonged to retired couple Marge and Bruce Linksy, who were home at the time. However the problems were quickly resolved as the couple's bodies lay cold down in the cellar, courtesy of Ryan and Carolyn.

Henry's eyes shifted to the current situation going on in front of him.

"Get off me!" Bartend bellowed pushing Ryan off him. "Don't blame this shit on me! I went to pick Jack up on Shore Road this morning as planned...but there were cops swarming all over the place...so I got the fuck out of there!"

"When I got hired as Jack's lawyer to defend him and get his ass out of jail, I had no clue I'd get sucked into all your crazy shit!" The lawyer ranted on. There was no way in hell they were going to blame this one on him...he had nothing to do with it.

"I have done everything you people have asked...or better ordered," He checked off with his fingers, "I managed to get Fenton Hardy thrown off the case! I went along with the whole insanity bit; I helped Carolyn and Cindy break Jack out of the mental hospital in Bellevue! I helped kidnap that Hardy kid out at that farm."

Carolyn stood by Ryan with her arms folded to her chest, glaring at the lawyer. "Yeah, only end up shooting him." She laughed dryly, "Which wasn't part of the plan."

"Shut up! I told you why I had to." He snapped.

"Oh please. You fucked up. Just like that plan of yours two weeks ago to use Jack's kid to do the job you were ordered to do, to kill Joe Hardy but it didn't happen. "

"Oh yes let's not forget that." Ryan replied heatedly stabbed a finger to his chest. "When Carolyn called and told me your plan to use Henry...I knew I had to step in to create the hospital fire as a diversion to get your sorry asses out of there."

"But you have to admit my plan did work, thanks to Henry's actions", Bartend shot back. "Jack got his mistrial just like he wanted. And now my career has gone down the tubes and I'm a fugitive...wanted as an accessory to murder, two murders to be exact."

He looked at Henry and pointed, "I had no idea that kid turn psycho and murder that other boy in the hospital courtyard...who knew he'd try to kill the other Hardy brother."

Henry glared at Bartend but said nothing. Psycho? Dude has no idea.

"Okay, maybe it did work to some degree, but let's talk about the situation we're facing now." Ryan took a step back kicking the leg of the broken coffee table. He ran a hand over his face.

"We were going to leave this god forsaken town for good...all we needed was Jack...and now he's dead!" He shouted red faced at the lawyer. "How the hell did Frank Hardy know about the plan for you to meet Jack out on that road?"

"I don't know."

"Well he must have found out some how? Has anyone of you left this cabin in the last couple of days?" Ryan shifted his eyes suspiciously at Carolyn.

"Don't look at me." She snapped shaking her head, "I've been here with you this whole time, I'm going stir crazy, so sick of this damn cabin."

"What about you?" Ryan shifted his attention at Henry.

"What?" Henry grumbled.

"You heard me! Have you been out of this fucking cabin in the last two days?"

"I don't have to answer you."

In a flash, Ryan flew up to Henry, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, shoving him against the wall knocking pictures to the floor. He grabbed him by the chin. Giving him an icy stare, "Listen you little shit, god only knows where your mother is and now with your father gone. I'm all you've got...so if you've done anything to get your father killed...you will answer to me."

"Yes or no, did you leave this cabin in the last couple of days?"

Henry immediately jerked his head away from his hand. "No," he lied glaring at his uncle, "By the way, I'm eighteen that means I don't have to answer to anyone, anymore."

"You think so. You're wanted for murdering those two boys. The police will never stop looking for you. You think you can make it on your own."

'I can and I will." Henry hissed.

Ryan studied him closely, "Maybe there is some of your father in you after all." He glanced up at the teen's dark hair. "What's with the hair?" He tugged on it.

"I'm trying something new. I figured we need to change our appearances from the police."

"Where did you get the hair dye?"

"Found it here in the bathroom...you know from the old couple you killed that own this cabin."

"Good thinking kid," Ryan praised him, he slowly released his nephew.

He took a breath to calm down. "This still doesn't answer my first question," He turn to Bartend, "How the hell did Frank Hardy know about the plan for you to meet Jack out on that road?"

"Well his father is a detective, and he is one himself. Frank must have found out somehow. Maybe they crossed paths with each other and got into a fight and he ended up shooting Jack." Bartend quickly through out a theory. "He would have a reason to kill your brother, out of revenge. Jack was accused of hurting his brother."

"I believe it." Henry jumped in quickly. Thinking of Frank Hardy made his blood boil.

"He never did like me, He told me so many times about how much he hated me, because he hated Jack. Frank Hardy had convinced all his friends that I was just like Jack. Jack was an evil man he'd say...Jack deserved to die, he'd say."

"He finally convinced his brother to turn his back on me...that's why I tried to kill Frank out of self-defense. All I was trying to do was be friends with his brother …Frank didn't like that, he's no good...he's manipulative, cunning... he snuck into my hospital room and threatened my life...he told me to stay away from Joe or I'd regret it."

"Frank even made a threat to get rid of Jack...as payback for him hurting his brother. Hurting his little brother was a big no, no, he'd say." Henry huffed out, nodding at the television, "And I guess you heard it tonight on the news Frank Hardy did exactly what he said he do...kill Jack."

Henry ran a hand through his dark hair and suppressed a smile. He planted the seed and now waited for his uncle to respond.

There was an intense silence that filled the room, everyone waiting for the younger Hayden brother to speak.

All of the sudden, however, an evil grin spread across his face, his uncontrollable chuckling breaking the silence. "Well then it's only fair that I return the favor, and avenge my brother's death."

"Who's with me?" He looked at everyone in the room.

"Yes, of course." Carolyn replied.

"Count me out." Bartend disagreed. "I don't want to be apart of this. I'm getting far away from you people as possible."

"You know, Daniel, you're right, you don't have to be apart of this, you've done enough. In fact you're free to go," Ryan smiled smugly. "However, before you go I need your help with something."

"What's that?"

"Follow me to the cellar."

"What?" the lawyer's eyes widen, his face paled.

"I need your help. We have to bury the bodies of the old couple we killed, before they stink up the place. After that you're free to leave." The younger Hayden brother looked at Henry and Carolyn, "You two stay here."

Bartend gulped nervously. He reluctantly followed Ryan into the kitchen and to a door that led down to the cellar.

Ryan opened the door, and held it open for him, "After you, don't look back." he gestured him to go down the stairs. A stone-cold expression slid across his face, his dark eyes filled with hatred and his mouth twisted into a scowl.

The lawyer's body started to tremble as he assented down the steps. Ryan goes in closing the door behind him. Then a few minutes later Henry and Carolyn heard the sound of a couple of gunshots, _BANG! BANG!_ followed by loud, _thump!_

Then Ryan comes back into the living room and puts a gun in his back pocket of his pants, "That's one less headache I have to deal with."

'You know Ryan," Carolyn said unfazed by what just took place. She folded her arms to her chest, "Bartend did bring up a good point. What if Fenton Hardy did find out somehow about Bartend's meeting with Jack? We need to leave this cabin before someone gets wind of this place."

'It is a possibility, Carolyn my dear, however we're not leaving this shit yet," Ryan coolly replied . "Not until I avenge my brother's death. I want blood, Hardy blood. It's going to take careful planning." And ideas struck him as he looked at Henry's new hair and smiled, "We're going to hide in plain sight."

"Listen up Henry...time to due your father proud. _Eye_ _for an eye_... _A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die."_

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

At a quarter to 6, Fenton left the shooting range. He dropped his very pissed off youngest at home. He couldn't deal with Joe's energy at the moment. He understood why Joe was angry with him; he hoped Joe would eventually see reason as to why he had to turn the disc over to the Chief. He didn't want to turn it in, but he had to it was the principle of the matter. He pulled up to the station got out of the car and made his way inside.

Chief Collig was at the front desk talking to Officer Baker when he saw the detective walk through the front doors of the precinct.

"Fenton..." He asked noting the concern on the man's face.

Fenton joined the officers at the front desk. "Chief, this is for you," He said handing the disc to him for going formalities. The chief looked questionably at the disc in his hand, then up at Fenton.

"On it is footage a security camera from the shooting range." Fenton explained although every word tasted bitter as he spoke, "it shows what happened to the gun. All I'm going to say is the person on it may or may not be who you think? At least I pray it's not. "

Everything in him wanted to believe it wasn't Frank on that tape stealing the gun. But at the moment that was the least of his concern, the wellbeing of his eldest son was, he received Con's urgent text message, 'Frank needs you'. He knew it was a bad idea leaving Frank here locked in a cell.

"I need to see Frank."

The Chief exchanged looks with Baker, "Yes of course," He replied, "Baker, why don't you take Fenton to Frank's cell. While you're doing that I'll take a look at what's on this footage." He held up the disc.

"Yes, Sir." Baker answered with a nod.

"Thank you," Fenton said gratefully as he walked with Baker to the cell block. He asked rubbing his tired eyes. 'How is he by the way?"

"Um, very quiet lying on his cot. Con brought him something to eat earlier, he barely touched it. Right now your son is sleeping or pretending to be. Con was very concerned about him and hadn't left his side since he text you."

Fenton's stomach started churning, this didn't sound good. As soon as they entered the cell block and past the other inmates they finally reached Frank's cell Con was standing outside.

"Con, thank you for notifying me it means a lot." Fenton greeted him with a handshake.

The officer accepted his handshake, concern evident in his voice. "I've never seen Frank like this before. He just sounded really down on himself." He released Fenton's hand then quickly gave him a run down of his conversation with Frank, "He kept saying things like he was tired of letting everyone down, Joe, you and Laura, Callie. Then he mentioned Phil's name and that was pretty much the end of our conversation. Then when he said he was tired and didn't want to do this anymore. Something about that statement was a red flag to me. That's why I text you."

Fenton stepped up to the cell he wanted to cry. His eldest son curled up in a fetal position dressed in an orange jumpsuit lying on his cot, his face pale and eyes were closed. He had the bleak expression look on his face, that same expression he had come to know himself, through his own battle with depression. To watch his son go through this was truly heartbreaking, this was a battle he couldn't fight for him, but Fenton was determined to do everything in his power to support and encourage Frank to keep fighting and not give up. Depression wasn't going to take his son's life, like it did his father.

Fenton quickly held back his tears; he had to remain strong and calm. Con opened the cell door and Fenton stepped inside. He took a deep breath to keep his own emotions at bay. He crouched down next to Frank's cot. He noted the fast food bag on the floor. He touched the food it was cold.

"Frank." He said softly.

No response. He could hear his son breathing steady, so he didn't know if he was actually sleeping.

"Frank," He said again, reaching out to gently touch his shoulder.

Frank slowly opened his eyes and looked at his father, and then closes them again. "Dad."

"Con called you, didn't he?"

"He did, he's very concern about you, and so am I."

"I'm fine, living the dream." Frank opened his eyes lifted his head, "Just look around," He said spreading his arm to show his father his cell. "What more can I ask for?" Then he curled his arm back under his chest and closed his eyes again.

Ignoring his son's sarcastic remark, Fenton asked, "Will you, please, open your eyes and tell me that?"

Frank did as his father instructed him. "Better." The word came out bitterly after he opened his eyes.

Fenton bit the tip of his tongue to stop his temper. He took a calming breath and started counting to ten. It was bad enough he was getting attitude from Joe, now from Frank. He would give his sons some leeway given the ordeals they're going through, to some degree.

However, at some point he was going to have to sit down and have a talk with them. It didn't matter to him if one was a high school senior and the other a college man...there was one thing Fenton will not tolerate from his sons was lack of respect, especially if they want to come work for him. The hard part for Fenton was figuring out how to balance between being their boss and their father.

Frank caught the hurt look in Fenton's eyes and felt guilty for being disrespectful. He quickly sat up, "Dad, I'm sorry, I don't mean it...there's just so much going on him my head." He said, putting his hands on the sides of his face, he started to choke up making it even harder to talk. "I'm trying to be a man a fight this thing...but it's getting harder and harder...I don't think I can take much more of this shit."

Frank turned away from Fenton feeling ashamed.

"Son, look at me."

Frank shook his head no.

"Frank I said look at me."

"I can't."

Fenton calmly took a breath. Then he gently, turned his son's chin with his hand, forcing Frank to look at him.

Frank looked up at his father with tear stained eyes. His bottom lip started quivering as tears ran down his cheeks. "Dad... I...hate crying...I'm a grown man for god sakes...I hate feeling so empty."

Fenton began talking to him firm but remain calm, "Listen to me closely, if there is one thing, you're not, is a quitter. You have never quit anything in your life. Like in school anytime you were faced with an assignment that was difficult, you never gave up you worked at it until you figured it out."

"Yes, depression is hard...and it gets harder, Frank, you are smart, you can beat this thing. Think of it as the enemy wanting to cause you harm. All you have to do is fight and keep fighting no matter how hard it is you will get through this. I promise."

"Okay, okay I'll try." Frank nodded slowly.

"Good that's all I ask." Fenton replied. Hopefully he was getting through to him. He added with a little more encouragement. "I want you to start thinking positive thoughts. We're going to get you out of here."

All at once Frank went quiet Fenton could almost see the wheels turning in his head as if he wanted to say something. He waited patiently for him to speak.

Then finally, "I didn't kill Hayden," Frank said, brown eyes almost pleading. He knew he asked him this before, but he just needed to hear it from his father again. "You believe me, don't you?"

Before Fenton could give him an answer the image of the dark haired figure in a red shirt from the security footage flashed in his head. He didn't want to believe it was Frank.

"Yes, I believe you." Fenton answered honestly. He saw relief wash over his son's face then it quickly deflected into concern.

"Where's Joe? Why didn't he come with you?"

"He's at home, resting."

"Really? How did you swing that?"

This time Fenton went quiet, Frank had a bad feeling something was wrong. "Is there something going on? Have you found out anything?" He asked curiously.

"All I can tell you is that we're working on something." Fenton spoke without going into detail about the footage of the dark haired figure.

That peeked Frank's curiosity even more. Why was his father being so secretive all of a sudden...maybe he did find something that would prove his innocence? But that didn't explain his concern of what's going on with his brother.

"What about Joe? If I know my little brother he's not taking this whole thing well, isn't he?"

"Your brother is dealing with this the best way he can."

"Is he being difficult? He can be intense sometimes."

"Joe is just being Joe. The only way he can express his feelings is by lashing out. I can tell you he's very much in your corner. He believes without a doubt your innocent, and no one his going to change his mind." Fenton said finally. "He just wants you home as we all do."

"He's lashing out at you, isn't he?"

"You could say that."

"I guess this means I have to go into big brother mode, and knock my little brother down a peg or two."

Fenton had to smile at Frank's remark. He's beginning to sound like Frank so intuitive when it comes to his brother's behavior.

"Son, I appreciate you coming to my defense, but believe it or not I can handle Joe. So remember what I said think positive thoughts, tomorrow you're getting out of here."

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

Tuesday morning 8AM

Within 72 hours of his arrest, Frank stood in front of a judge with his lawyer Carl Sims.

He followed his father's advice by thinking positive thoughts. He was going to fight this damn depression. It wasn't going to take him. He was going to fight hard for his family, his friends, Callie the woman he loved and plans to spend the rest of his life with. And he was going to fight for himself, he had to he made a vow to get justice for Phil and Seth.

But before he could he had to get out of this mess, Frank was going to find whoever's framing him for Hayden's murder. Oh yes he was thinking positive that things were going to turn around for him.

So far things were starting to go in Frank's favor. A $1000 bail was set since none of the shyster lawyers were there in court to complain. That was one check Fenton was more then happy to write that would keep Frank from spending another night in a jail cell.

However the judge did have one stipulation. He was aware of who Fenton Hardy was and his profession as a detective. Therefore he had prohibited Frank as well as Fenton from conducting an investigation into Hayden's murder case. As hard as that will be for them Fenton and Frank both had agreed to the judge's decision.

The judge banged his gavel on the desk dismissing the courtroom, although Frank's ordeal was far from over with Hayden's murder hanging over his head, but Frank wasn't giving up, he was innocent. He knew the truth would eventually come out somehow, but for now Frank was happy to be out of that cell. For now he was free. For now he was happy.

After shaking Carl's hand to thank him, Frank turn around to see his parents, Callie and Joe sitting in the front row behind him with smiles on their faces. He smiled back at them.

Oh yes, he had a reason to fight.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone sorry again for taking long to update. Still don't know what's going with my beta reader do hope she's okay. So I'm kind of doing this myself and wanted to post it, sorry again for any mistakes.

Thank you to those who left me wonderful reviews, and favorites, following or just reading. Here's my new chapter let me know what you think and how I'm doing. :)

A brother's revenge chapter 7

"I'm so glad that part is over. And Frank will finally be home." Laura commented gratefully.

It was going on 9 o'clock as she walked with Fenton and Joe to the parking lot after leaving the courthouse. It was starting out to be a beautiful morning; the sun was shining up in the blue sky. She just wanted to enjoy the rest of the day with her family and not worry about the case for now. Hopefully they could do just that.

"This will be our last summer with Frank before he goes off to college in August." Laura started to tear up. "Hopefully this horrible murder case is resolved soon."

She was not too happy when Fenton told her about Frank's rough time last night. She was worried that being locked up over night in a horrible cell would make Frank's battle with depression worse.

Then this morning up in front of the courtroom she noted his tired eyes hiding behind a smile that told her, her son was not okay. She just wanted to hold him in her arms like she did when he was a little boy.

She prayed to God for this nightmare to be over soon...and Frank would finally have some peace. So that they would all have some peace.

"It will, Honey." Fenton replied. They made their way to the car. "We're going to get through this." Fenton put an arm around her and pulled her close to him and then kissed her head.

He opened the passenger door for his wife. "Dad," He turned his head to his younger son.

"Yes."

"What happens now?" Joe asked coming up beside his parents with his crutches.

"We're going home to have brunch." Fenton answered although he had a feeling that wasn't the answer Joe was wanting.

"That's not..." Joe shook his head, "I mean about Hayden's murder case." He knew what he was asking was going to lead into a confrontation. But his stubborn pride wouldn't let go, he had to ask it.

"Since you and Frank can't go near the case. Someone...has to investigate Hayden's murder case? Someone has to clear Frank's name." Joe looked around the parking lot at the people passing by them.

"We'll discuss this at home. Not here." Fenton said stalling. He knew where Joe was going with this. And he really did not want to get into it with his youngest.

True to his word, Joe looked back up at his father he wouldn't let up, he kept going, and "Sam is busy working on the hospital fire case..." Joe suggested slowly. He convinced his father to let him go to the shooting range to talk to Pete. Maybe just maybe he could convince him to let him stay on this case.

"I-I could do it."

"No. Chief Collig and his men are perfectly capable of handling the case. "

"But I can help. I can go places they can't.

"No."

"How can we just stay out of this?"

"Joe..."

"The judge didn't say I couldn't investigate Hayden's murder."

"I'll give you a good reason Joe; you're still recovering from a gunshot wound." Laura stated giving her son a serious look. "Your father is right. The police can handle it."

"Besides that aren't you on restriction from detective work?" She looked at Fenton to respond, "He is on restriction, right?"

"I lifted it once." Fenton answered, he hadn't told her about them going to the shooting range to talk to Pete. "He went with me yesterday to talk to someone that had to do with the murder case."

He saw Laura was about to say something, he held up his hand to explain, "I can't go into any details. All I can say is Chief Collig is working on it. Now as for, Joe being on restriction it's certainly looking that way if he doesn't lose the attitude."

"Oh come on Dad," Joe huffed then he looked at Laura, "Mom, I am fine. Physical therapy is really helping me. It won't be long before I can get rid of these crutches." He fought back a wince as a slight pain went through his leg.

"I am your mother; I can tell when you're not fine." She countered back. "And that little pain expression on your face just told me."

"I've been on my leg too long, that's it. But I can tolerate it." Joe argued. He looked at Fenton. "Dad, please."

"Absolutely not." Fenton stated. Joe was pushing his buttons he could feel his temper rising to the surface.

"This is all because of your damn justice system!" Joe shouted causing people to stop and stare. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I can do this. Please let me help work this case to clear Frank's name!"

"Joe..."

"I'm a man...Damn it! Dad, I can do this!"

"Five months Joe, in five months you will be 18!" Fenton fired back. He lost it. He slammed the car door to face and address his short-tempered son. "However, that does not make you a man. You still have a lot of growing up to do. Your attitude needs to change before I can decide what to do about the case."

"We'll see." Joe grumbled.

"Enough!" Laura shouted coming in between them.

"I don't know what's going on, however, this is not the time nor place for this." Laura said directly. "Frank will be coming out here in a few minutes...he doesn't need to see you two arguing."

If his mother only knew Frank was their reason for their disagreement. Joe thought.

He didn't think it was right of Fenton to turn the copy of the security footage over to the police. What if it made things worse for Frank? Joe's mind flashed back to the dark haired guy stealing that gun. It wasn't Frank. Frank did not kill Hayden with that gun. Joe was determined to find out who the guy was on that footage?

Fenton took a deep breath, and said calmly leaving no room to argue. "This discussion is closed until we get home."

Joe responded, letting out a heavy sigh, "Fine."

(FJFJFFJFJFFJFJ)

Frank and Callie walked out the front doors as they made their way down the steps of the courthouse. Carl was beside him with his briefcase at his side.

"Frank, try not to worry about anything." Carl said to his client. "Everything is going to work out."

"Thank you, Carl." Frank said gratefully, "For your help." He smiled then the smile faded into a frown when something in the parking lot grabbed his attention.

"Oh great." He huffed out.

"Frank, what's wrong?" Callie asked concern for him.

She followed his gaze to see his brother and father having a heated discussion. Laura was standing between them as referee. "Oh my gosh."

"I really don't want to deal with that right now." Frank murmured. He knew there was tension between his father and brother. He had a feeling it had to do with him and something that might have to do with Hayden's murder.

"Well you don't have too." Callie said. "I have my car, so I could take you home, or we could just go for a drive. That's not a problem is it Mr. Sims?"

Carl answered. "I don't think that would be a problem. As long as you two stay in town." He turned back to the father and son arguing in the parking lot. "I think I'll leave you here. Frank, tell your father I'll call him."

"I will." Frank nodded.

"Thank you." Callie smiled.

"You're welcome young lady." Carl replied politely. With that he shook hands with Frank, and left to go to his car got in and drove off.

"What do you think Frank? What do you want to do?" Frank felt Callie's hand slide into his. He ran his other hand through his dark brown hair.

"I think a drive would be good." Frank smiled at her giving her hand a light squeeze. Then he wrinkled his nose at his father and brother arguing, "But first I probably should go rescue my mother."

With that he took a deep breath as they headed to the car.

"Hey! What is going on?"

His father and brother backed away from each other, when they saw Frank. "Everything's fine." Fenton replied plastering a smile on his face.

"Yup...fine." Joe replied dryly.

"Yeah, I can see that." Frank simply said, "We saw you guys arguing as soon as we came out of the courthouse. What's wrong?"

"I think we're all just tired." Fenton replied. "It's been a long morning."

Although he wasn't completely telling his son the truth. He really didn't know how to explain to his eldest son about the security footage of the dark haired figure stealing the gun. Given the fact he and Frank couldn't investigate the case made it hard.

However, Fenton believed turning the copy of the footage over to the police was the right thing to do. And the truth will come out and Hayden's real killer will be caught.

Frank didn't say anything, just nodded. He knew that wasn't the whole truth.

"Why don't we go home? Gertrude is preparing brunch." Laura said cheerfully quickly changing the subject. "Callie, you're welcome to join us?"

"I'm not hungry." Joe grumbled. He walked to the back of the car; he opened the backdoor and threw his crutches. Then climbed inside slamming the door be hide him.

Frank made a mental note to find out what this fight was about, but for now he was looking forward to some alone time with Callie.

"Um, Thank you, Mrs. Hardy, but," Callie smiled politely. She looked at Frank and then back at Laura. "I was kind of hoping I could steal Frank away for a little while."

Laura got a glimpse of the beautiful ring on the girl's finger. She couldn't help but smile. "That's a splendid idea."

She was beyond thrilled with Frank and Callie's engagement. She and Fenton both love Callie as if she was their own daughter. Laura couldn't think of a more fitting girl for her son. She was a kind, strong and caring person. What impressed Laura the most about Callie was the way she stood by Frank as he dealt with his health situation and great support system as he deals with his depression.

"I think that would be fine." Fenton agreed with a grin. Spending some time with his fiancé is just what Frank needs. "Why don't you two come back to the house for dinner about 6 tonight?"

"We can do that." Frank agreed.

"Good now you kids go have fun." Laura said cheerfully.

(FJFJFFJFJFFJFJ)

By 10:30, Callie managed to drive through the heavy traffic in her little green Nissan on the north end of town. She glanced over at the passenger seat at Frank, who was staring out of the window. He wore a far off expression on his face; she could tell he had a lot on his mind.

She turned her eyes back onto the road in front of her. She stopped at a red light waiting for her turn. While trying to think of something encouraging she could say to her fiancé.

"Penny for your thoughts."

When he didn't respond she tried again. "Earth to Frank."

Quickly snapping out of his thoughts, Frank turned to her blinking his eyes. "Sorry, I guess I zoned out there for a moment. I hate when that happens."

"It's understandable." Callie replied turning her eyes back to the road. "You have a lot going on."

"Yeah," Frank sigh. "I guess I'll have to get to the bottom of Dad and Joe's argument when I get home. Right now I have a question for you."

"What's that?"

"Where are you taking me?"

Callie just smiled at him. "You'll see." The light turned green giving Callie the cue to go. She had made another turn down Cumberland Street that led to the Bayport University. She drove passed the campus and to a three story apartment building.

She pulled into the parking lot and found a spot next to a sign that read student parking only.

"We're here," Callie sang, "my home for the next four years."

"I am super excited!" She was beaming from ear to ear. "I wanted you to be the first to see it. Well actually you'll be the third...because my parents saw it first. I officially move in August 9th. A two bedroom half bath and a spacious living and kitchen area."

They climbed out of the car, hand in hand and started to make their way through the parking lot.

Frank looked up at the apartment complex. Suddenly his mind was hit with a flash back to the second floor exploding into a fiery inferno. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Frank?" he heard Callie call him. "Are you okay"

He quickly shook that thought out of his head, "uh, yeah," Then he asked quickly changing the subject. "I thought you were going to live in a dorm?"

"I was. But I kind of like the idea of living off campus. I'm two miles from campus. And my first class won't start until 830." They started making their way to the apartment complex.

"Do you have a roommate?"

"Not yet."

He looked at her strangely. "Not yet?" he repeated.

He stopped walking again and suddenly had a feeling he was being watched. He began looking around him at people walking past them and at his surroundings. Was someone watching him? Was he just being paranoid...no he wasn't going to take the chance.

He pulled Callie close to him as they entered the lobby of the apartment building. Frank quickly took the place in a glance; there were black and white marble floor tiles and the décor was elegant and modern.

"Nice." was all he could say. He noted it was a busy lobby, he saw several students walking up and down the stairs. And two young girls stepped out of the elevator, as a few more students waited for their turn. Three girls' two blonds and one brunet he guessed were between the ages of 18 or 19 years old were sitting in a small sitting area. The girls were talking and giggling loudly with each other.

Then he noticed a young guy with dark hair sticking out from underneath a red ball cap. His body was slouched down in a red plush chair reading a car magazine. Although Frank couldn't get a good look at his face, However the strange part he thought was that must be an interesting article he's reading. The kid's face was practically buried in the magazine so oblivious to the cackling girls sitting across from him. He couldn't put his finger on it but he had a bad feeling about that young guy.

"Oh wait, I got to show you this." Callie's voice broke in to his thoughts. Before he knew it she was dragging him by the hand over to the left of the lobby was an area of about 30 aluminum mailboxes on the wall. "See this." She pointed to number B14 on the boxes. "This one is mine." She smiled proudly, "Can you believe it, and I have my own mailbox." Her eyes were filled with excitement.

This made Frank smile, just seeing how happy and excited his beautiful lady was over something as having her own mailbox made him happy. He just wanted to stay in this moment he didn't want to go back to that dark sad place he's been in.

"So what floor do you live on?"

"I live on the second floor."

Frank's smile dropped. "The second floor?" He repeated.

All at once his face paled and his mind was hit with another flashed back to the second floor exploded into a fiery inferno of the hospital... his father...his mother...aunt, Sam were all in there! His eyes were fixed on the big, gaping hole on the second floor. The floor to the room he shared with Joe was just above it. Joe! Oh my God!

Callie noted again of Frank's pale face and heavy breathing. "Frank, Baby, Are you okay?" She framed his face with her hands, to force him to look at her.

Blinking his eyes to force his thoughts away, Frank shook his head and focused on Callie's voice. "I'm sorry, Cal," He cleared his throat. "You can't live on the second floor."

"Frank, I..."

"Callie...I thought...I lost my family...Joe he was up there..."

"Frank..." She started to say then it dawned on her the hospital fire was the reason as to why he was acting this way. "Frank, listen to me. It's not the same thing as the hospital. This place is safe. I am safe here. We are safe."

"I want to show you my apartment, and then we can leave if you want." She suggested. She really didn't want to cause him stress. She was hoping to get him to relax and enjoy their time together.

"Alright." Frank sighed calmly. He had to stop his mind from thinking these paranoid thoughts. Callie was so excited about showing him around her new home, her new chapter in her life that she was about to partake. He wasn't about to take that away from her.

He walked with her over to the elevator. She pressed the button to send the elevator down to them to take them to her floor. Again another flashback hit him of him coming face to face with Ryan Hayden as he got off the elevator ending up chasing him down the hospital stairwell and outside through the courtyard...only to lose him. Again he quickly shook the thoughts out of his head, this is about Callie. Focus on Callie. He told himself.

'Ding!' the sound of the elevator brought Frank to his attention. The door slid open Callie stepped inside she held the door open with her hand, and held her other hand out to Frank. "Are you ready?"

He looked back at the small sitting area, the girls were still there, then his eyes shifted to the red chair, his eyes widen, it was empty! His heart started pounding out of his chest, the young guy with a red ball cap was gone. He was just there a minute ago...he looked around the lobby no sign of him. He was here, Frank was sure of it! He wasn't imagining it... he was here!

"Frank are you coming?" Callie called to him.

"In a minute, I have to check something." No, Frank shook his head, he was not being paranoid...the kid was there! And he was going to prove it. Puzzled by her fiancé's behavior, Callie stepped out of the elevator and watched Frank rush over to the three girls in the small sitting area.

"Excuse me, ladies?"

The girls stopped their chatter and glanced up. "Oh wow," The brunet smiled dreamily at Frank. "Girls, I think I'm going to like college."

"Me too Kim, especially if the guys here look like him." One of the blond girls gushed, drinking in the sight of Frank. "Tall, dark and, sexy." She purred licking her lips as if hungry for a delicious treat.

"Now girls, be nice." the other blond girl swatted playfully reprimanding her friends, "What could we do for you handsome? Whatever it is, it's yours." She seductively leaning forward in her low cut pink top towards him showing off her cleavage of her voluptuous chest.

Frank's face blushed a shade of pink and his feet froze where he stood. His mouth went dry and suddenly felt uncomfortable. The girls were looking at him like lionesses about to pounce and devour their prey.

"Sorry girls," Callie intervened coming up beside Frank hooking her arm around his. She held out her left hand showing off her ring, "He's taken."

"Too bad." one of the girls pouted.

"Come on, Frank. I want to show you my apartment."

'In a minute Callie, I just need to ask them something, it's important."

"Anything for you." The voluptuous girl commented blinking her eyes flirtatiously at him. Callie just glared at her. Don't even think it; you'll have a fight on your hands.

Frank could feel Callie tightening her grip on his arm; he had to admit though seeing Callie's jealous feisty side was kind of a turn on.

He took a breath and cleared his throat, "Did any of you ladies see where the kid went that was sitting here?" Frank asked pointing to the red chair. He just wanted to hurry this up, just to avoid a catfight breaking out.

"No." the girls replied in unison.

"Are you sure? He was sitting right across from you. He was wearing a red ball cap, reading a magazine."

"We didn't see him."

Frank looked at them blinking, how could this be? Of course, he thought feeling frustrated, how could the girls notice anything with all the chit chatting and carrying on they were doing. Then again they noticed me only when I got their attention!

He looked back at the red chair, and ran a hand through his hair, God what was happening to him, was he going crazy? No, He wasn't imagining him... no, no, the guy in the ball cap was here! Damn it!

Callie saw the confusion in his eyes, 'Come on, Frank let's go." Callie said pulling him away from the claws of those girls.

Maybe, I am going crazy. Feeling defeated, Frank took a deep breath and said, "Okay." He walked with Callie to the elevator.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone I am back, finally found someone to help me with my story, and again thank you to that wonderful person, I also would like to thank everyone who's left me wonderful reviews on my last chapter, thank you to those who are favorites, following or just reading you guys and girls are awesome.

Here is my new chapter, I'm giving it a** M rating due to sexual context **

**Things get kind of hot and heavy between Frank and Callie. I know there's some younger people on here if you're uncomfortable I'd suggest you skim over it. I think you Frank and Callie fans will be pleased, I've been debating on whether to write on or not, I felt the timing had to be right I didn't want to put it in just anywhere felt this would be the moment they take their relationship to the next level. This is my first time writing a scene like this and the last, there may be chapters where they make out...and maybe a hint of them being intimate. **

Cherylann Rivers you guess right if Callie's little hint...you asked what's going on in that apartment...you're about to find out ;)

A brother's revenge Chapter 8

"Welcome to my home." Callie announced cheerfully once they reached room B14. She took her key out of her purse and inserting it into the lock, she swung open the door. "My parents bought me a living room set as a graduation gift. I still have to get a bed and other things, Mom said she'll help me decorate to make it feel like home."

Frank nodded and followed her inside making sure he closed and locked the door behind him. He quickly took the apartment in. It was small but had a warm and cozy feel to it. The walls were white with tan carpeting covering the floor. There was a small kitchen with white cabinets and gray granite countertops and an island with two bar stools. A small table that served as the dinner table sat in the corner.

The kitchen opened up to the living room. There was a gray sofa that looked inviting, a large white pillow at each end, a red blanket draped over the loveseat, an ottoman on the floor. A bookshelf and desk wasn't too far, facing the rest of the room.

Callie showed him the two bedrooms down the hallway. "This one is my room." She said as they stepped into the room on the left hand side. "It's not as big as my room at my parents' house, which means I'm going to have to purge some of my stuff to make room."

Frank noticed the walls were white, along with the ceiling and the door to the walk in closet. Beams of sunshine filtered into the room from open blinds from the windows. He walked over to the windows pulling the blinds up getting a full view of the tall buildings of Bayport University in the distance. Suddenly his mind was lost in thought and a feeling of sadness began to take over.

Callie noticed he had been quiet since they left the lobby, "Frank, why don't we go back into the living room." She suggested, a slight nod of his head was his response.

"Come on." She went up to him, taking his hand in hers; she led him back out of the room. Once in the living room she led him over to the couch. She released his hand and sat down, leaning back against the cushions as she kicked her shoes off. She patted the spot next to her, inviting him to sit, hoping he'd start talking. He sat beside her, resting his hand on her knee.

She placed her hand on his. Frank leaned his head back resting on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Frank, are you okay? If you want to talk, I'm here ready to listen."

He rubbed his eyes suddenly feeling tired, "I'd be lying if I said I was okay." He opened his eyes and looked at her. He sighed warily, " That's the thing with depression, I think, I don't know how, I'm going to feel from one day to the next. Sometimes my emotions hit me in waves and it can be draining to the point where I'm physically exhausted."

"I mean, here you are ready to start your new life." His voice deflated with every word, "And I'm not even close to being ready for Princeton. I'm supposed to be there on the third of August; I'm not even close to ready for that."

"Tomorrow is the first day of July practically the start of summer, I thought I'd be spending it with you, my family, friends...watching fireworks on the 4th along the waterfront of the docks on Shore Road like we do every year. And at the end of July my 19th birthday...for all I know I could be spending it in prison. Before leaving for college I thought I'd sit down with each of my family members and friends, one on one, to say goodbye to them and to let them know how much of a positive impact they've made on my life; hopefully I've impacted them the same way."

"That is something Dr. Reese has encouraged me to do, to be a little open in regards to my emotions." He paused. "I'm still working up the nerve and trying to figure out what to say to Joe." He glanced down at his hands before looking back up at Callie. "To you."

He shook his head, "We're engaged to be married...after we graduate college...and work towards building our future together...that was our plan... But instead I'm dealing with so much crazy shit. Hell, maybe I am crazy. I swear I saw that kid in the lobby...something about him bugs me...I don't know why?" He huffed and closed his eyes.

"You are not crazy. If you said you saw him. I believe you." Callie stated. Frank opened his eyes and looked at her; Callie could tell there was something else on his mind. She waited patiently for him to speak. He tossed one of the throw pillows on the ottoman.

He reached back and took his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans. Callie leaned over and watched as he scrolled through his contact list, stopping when it got to Phil Cohen. Her heart sank; she knew who, or what, was on his mind. It hadn't been more than two weeks since their good friend had been brutally murdered.

Frank let out a heavy sigh as tears seeped from the corners of his eyes, his chin starting to quiver as he choked out. "About a hundred times today, I've wanted to give Phil a call or send him a text...but I can't...I know he's not going to answer...why... because he's dead."

Tears rolled down his face, "He was my best friend...I should've been there...I could have stopped it." He threw the phone on the floor.

"What happened to him was not your fault... Frank, you were in the hospital...you had a situation with your heart...your health needed attention."

"It still hurts that he's gone."

"I know." Callie said softly. She reached up and began running her fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him.

She sniffed back tears of her own, "I miss him too. He was a good friend. He didn't deserve what happened to him. Phil had his whole life ahead of him...I'm angry it got taken away from him."

Frank nodded. He sniffed back an angry sob, "He was supposed to be getting ready for college, just like us... He was looking forward to going to MIT. But it's not going to happen...and it's all Henry's fault! Phil was going to start his own software company. He was already working on something...it's never going to happen...because of Henry."

He stopped himself and wiping the tears from his eyes, his voice grew serious. "And then there's his cousin Seth. I hadn't gotten the chance to meet him. How sad is that? He ended up losing his life trying to help me and Joe. It's not fair. I do know one thing though: when the time is right I'm going to find Henry. He's going to pay for taking both Phil and Seth's lives."

"I know you will, and you're right, it's not fair." Callie agreed.

She sniffed back an angry sob and wiped her tears away, "Just like it's not fair that you're being accused of killing Hayden, that horrible man. And I want you to know, that I believe you are innocent. You did not kill him. I'll stick by you no matter what. And if you're worried about your father and brother they will work things out. You'll see. "

"I love you so much." She gave his hand a light squeeze.

He smiled back at her beautiful face. "I love you too. You don't know how much your support means to me."

He felt his spirit suddenly lift. He was happy she was here. Callie had told him earlier she had heard of his arrest on the news, which he hadn't wanted her to find out like that. She had called his mother to find out what was going on. All Laura could tell her was that he was being accused of murdering Jack Hayden, and about Frank's bail hearing for this morning.

Callie had asked if she could be there to support him. Frank felt so lucky to have this beautiful, amazing creature in his life in spite of the hell he was going through.

However that was far from everything he'd been sensing in regards to his brother. Joe had so often expressed his joy at having his big brother out of jail and back home. But Frank didn't like the growing tension between his father and brother; sooner or later he'd have to go home to deal with it.

"Well, we don't have to be home for supper until 6 this evening." He said feeling relaxed. "So that means I get to spend the rest of the day with you. Could we talk about something else?"

'Actually, we don't have to talk at all." Callie smiled mischievously. Frank lifted his eyebrow, looking at her strangely. "We could make out?"

"Make out?" Frank laughed. "Like a couple of high school kids."

"Yup...except we're grownups now, we can...stay out as late as we want...do whatever we want. We can go right in to second base.." She leaned into him and traced his lips with her finger, before kissing them. "slide into...third," she whispered seductively. "And if you're lucky...you'll get a grand slam..."

Callie tossed her blonde hair back over her shoulder and climbed on to his lap, pressing his back against the couch she took his hands and placed them on her hips of her jeans. She felt his hands slid to her ass giving her a firm squeeze making her wet down below.

She began unbuttoning his shirt and spread it apart and began running her hands down his bare chest. Her thumb grazed his left nipple causing a small gasp to escape his lips.

Her touch was making his body feel tingly and heat growing in his jeans. Frank swallowed a lump in his throat. "Cal..." he started to say a word, She started kissing his chin, then his throat leaving a trail of hot kisses all the way to the nape of his neck. She could feel his body responding to her touch.

She slid her hands down his chest and letting her fingers trace over his abs before traveling down to the waist line of his jeans. She popped open his jeans and slid down the zipper, her hand slipped inside, and she began to stroke him.

"Wait, Callie..." Frank said, voice shaking placed his hand on her to stop.

"Don't you like me touching you?"

He was a little disappointed when she removed her hand from him, He let out a breath. It's not that he didn't want to... her touch felt really good, Damn good...he wasn't sure if now was the time.

"It's okay, Frank we're engaged." She slid her hands up his chest and locking her arms around his neck, pressing her chest against his. "Besides, didn't I just saved you from those nasty girls?"

"That you did." Frank smirked. "Callie...I love you and believe me... I want to show you how much... it's just with everything going on right now...the last thing I need is to get you pregnant."

"I'm safe. I'm taking precautions to make sure that doesn't happen." Callie looked at him seriously. "Frank, its okay I want this."

She saw him start to hesitate, she quickly added, "Do you remember when we stood under that oak tree out at the Morton farm? We expressed our feelings of how much we love each other, we even shared a kiss. It was a beautiful moment that I'll always treasure."

Frank nodded.

Yes, He remembered ...it was a beautiful moment before the tragic nightmare with Hayden sneaking on to Chet's farm killing his dog … and Joe had gone missing...fearing the worst had happened to him.

Frank quickly pushed that thought out of his head...he didn't want to think about it...instead he focused on the moment he shared with Callie where he opened up his heart to her under that oak tree...he told her he loved her... tasting her lips...he didn't want to forget in that moment he was truly happy.

Callie continued on. "I trust you. You're the man I want a future with. I love you. And want to show you." She gazed up at him, losing herself in his brown eyes. 'Don't be afraid to show me. I am yours." She gave him a passionate _kiss_ on his lips.

He pulled her back keeping her at arms linked, "I love you." He said breathlessly looking into her eyes.

This time Frank didn't hold back...he returned the kiss feasting on her lips. Oh, those beautiful sweet lips. In a bold move, His tongue plunged between her lips, tasted her, found her tongue twined around his. His hands drove into her blond hair, grabbed handfuls of it and crushed her mouth to his as her strong fingers slid into his hair to pull his mouth down against hers.

Callie let him take control over her as his lips left hers, letting her catch her breath and began planting kisses along her jaw finding their way to the nape of her neck, coming back up drove into her lips.

Frank moved his hand down to her shoulder, then off her shoulder to her breast. He fondled her breast through her shirt for a second, and then he began to unbutton her shirt. and pulled it open to show her half cup bra. He reached around her and undid the clasp of her bra and the bra hung loosely from her shoulders.

He moved his hands to her breasts and began to massage them, kneading them, tasting them, gripping them, running his thumb over her hard nipples. The touch of his hands so warm on her bare skin sent another burst of heat straight to her core and made it ache as a small sound escaped her. "Frank."

She broke free from his touch long enough to stand up to discard her shirt and bra to the floor, her jeans and panties soon followed.

"You're beautiful." He said drinking in the sight of her naked body.

The heat in his jeans was begging for release, Frank couldn't take it anymore. He needed her, now! He stood up and took off the rest of his shirt and his jeans.

Now it was Callie's turn to drink in the sight of him. "Those nasty girls were right, you are Tall, dark and, sexy."

Frank reached for her again pulling her close, his voice husky with emotion, "Lucky for you, you get the full package." Once again they began feasting on each others lips, hands roaming their bodies, letting out moans and groans.

Callie slid her hands up his chest and locking her arms around his neck, pressing her chest against his. Blindly, Frank picked her up and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. He laid her down on the couch and buried himself into her. Their bodies melted into the heat of passion.

"Frank!"

FJFJFFJFJFFJFJ

A few minutes or so later...

Callie was buttoning up her shirt when she got to the last button she glanced up at a shirtless Frank, who was zipping up his jeans. He picked his shirt up off the floor and put it on. He glanced up meeting her gaze and smiling at her.

"Look at you with a smile on your face." She smiled back at him.

"Well it's your fault, you put it there." He teased lowering his head down, to kiss her lips.

"Are you okay?" He asked curiously. "Considering this was our first time."

"I'm fine," she smiled. "Perfectly fine." She reassured him noting a hint of concern in his eyes. "You were gentle and firm, made me feel beautiful." She winked and hinted suggestively, "you did hit a grand slam." She saw concern disappear from his eyes, in place his face turned pink and a light in his eyes and a smile was back on his face.

Frank cleared his throat, he took a breath, "Well you were pretty good yourself." He couldn't stop smiling at her. It was hard to put into words of what he was feeling, happy, excited, exhausted from expressing his love to her. But the glow on her face and the light in her eyes Frank could tell she was feeling the same way. It was a good feeling.

"So do you really like this apartment?" She asked him once they were dressed.

The question snapped Frank out of his thoughts, he looked at her. "Yes, "I like it, it's nice."

"Good, I'm glad." She replied pleased to hear his answer.

"However, I don't like the idea of you living alone. You should start looking for a roommate. Preferably, someone trustworthy."

Callie smiled. That sounded so much like Frank, she loved his protectiveness. Inwardly, she was bursting with excitement because so far his answers was what she wanted to hear. However, she was a little hesitant of what she wanted to ask him next, she was hoping it wasn't going to scare him off.

"Actually, I do have someone in mind." She took a deep breath and blurred out. "you."

Frank just looked at Callie, blinking. His mind turning the words over and over of what she was asking him. "You want me to move in here?"

"That's right."

"You and me living here?" He repeated pointing at the floor. "Together."

"Yes," Callie confirmed again. All at once Frank took a step back from her and went over to the window. Her heart dropped at his reaction, Maybe this wasn't a good idea?

"Frank, I'm sorry, please don't be angry." She went over to him. 'It was just an idea I had. It's one of the reasons, I decided to get an apartment, instead of living in a dorm."

Frank turned away from the window and looked at her. He took a deep breath. "Don't apologize, and I'm not angry. It just a lot to take in. I'm mean, we went from being engage, to making love for the first time, and now you're talking about us living together."

"I know it's overwhelming. But it's just something to think about?"

"How would we even make it work, with me away at Princeton?" Frank asked, as he was overwhelmed but he had to talk it out in order to think properly.

"We can make it work, Frank." Callie brought up tentatively. "I know, you're going to want to spend time with your family and they're going to want their time with you. Joe, especially, I get that and respect it."

"Think of this as another option, another place where you can stay when you come home. This apartment isn't just my apartment, it's ours. So we can have our time together." She placed her hand on her chest, before placing her hand on his chest," We're not in high school anymore, we're grownups now, we need to make decisions that is best for us."

She added lastly, "You don't have to make a decision now, just think about it." Callie gazed up at Frank, waiting patiently for him to answer. She could almost see the thought running in his head.

After giving her words some thought, Frank framed her face with his hands, He sighed heavily, "It is a lot to think about.** "** He answered honestly, "Let's just keep it as a maybe, for now. "

"A maybe is good." She smiled at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiled wrapping his arms around her, and held her close for a moment and then planted a kiss on her forehead. then his warm lips met hers, she returned his kiss passionately, and smiled at him when he pulled his head back.

"I don't know about you, but I think I worked up quite an appetite," He suggested changing the subject. "Why don't we get out of here? Grab a bite to eat. After all it is almost noon.**"**

"Sounds good." She agreed. They left the apartment building, and walked hand in hand out to the parking lot to Callie's car. All at once he stopped dead in his tracks, Callie notice his face suddenly paled.

"Frank, what's wrong?" Callie asked concern for him.

She followed his gaze and gasped in shock at the sight of in front of them. Her little green Nissan, the front tires were slashed... on the windshield in black spray paint were the words, " **_Eye_ _for an eye_... _A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!_**


	9. Chapter 9

Hello hopes this finds everyone safe and well, my family and I are safe and well. Although I work in a grocery store so you can imagine how crazy things are. Finally managed finished this chapter. Thank you to those who left me wonderful review, and to those who are following, favorites, or just reading, and thank you elevn buddy for helping me with his chapter.

I will try to post another as soon as I can. here's the new chapter hope you like it. Please stay safe and healthy

A brother's revenge chapter 9

**_Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother...soon a Hardy boy will die! _**"That's a pretty bold statement. At noon and in broad daylight too." Con said reading the message on the windshield.

"Someone's definitely trying to send you a message." Officer Baker added kneeling down to look at the front tires cut in ribbons. He took a picture of the tires and the message on the windshield.

"Yes, and it's pretty clear and to the point." Fenton commented. Frank had called him and the police not more than an hour ago and told him Callie's car had been vandalized. His heart had nearly given out when he'd arrived and seen the cryptic message on the windshield.

"This is so creepy." Callie said shaking. A chill run down her spine; she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. "I'm scared for you and Joe." She tore her eyes away from her car and looked up at Frank and noticed he was lost in thought. "Frank."

Frank stood frozen where he was, he couldn't let go of the words... He couldn't think, his mind was racing. **_Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!_**

"Frank?"

When he didn't answer she began to panic. "Frank, please!" Callie touched his shoulder, "Stay with me, I'm scared!" She called to him.

Hearing the panic in Callie's voice, Frank quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to him.

"Callie, no one's going to hurt you." He vowed to her. "I promise."

She immediately felt safe in his arms, nothing at this moment would dare to hurt her, however there was still a bit of trouble in his eyes.

"Frank, are you alright?" Fenton asked, concerned for his son.

"Yeah, I just want to find whoever did this." Frank replied after a few moments of silence, finally pulling himself together.

"Do you have any idea as to who done this?" Callie asked to get him to focus. "

"A few people come to mind," Frank answered. "One in particular, for pretty obvious reasons."

"Ryan Hayden." Fenton stated, knowing where his son's mind was going.

"It would make sense." Con agreed. "Hayden's murder was all over the news and on the front cover of the paper. Not to mention Frank's arrest as the prime suspect."

Frank nodded in agreement. His stomach began churning at the possibility. However they couldn't make assumptions, it could be someone, anyone, else. But his mind kept shifting back to Ryan...as well as his minions has Henry; again he had to remind himself not to make assumptions. He had to get proof.

"Why don't you both start from the beginning and tell us what happened after you left the courthouse?" Fenton asked, growing more concerned.

There was a chance that Hayden's murder had brought the younger Hayden brother out of hiding. Ryan was already a wanted man for multiple counts of murder including the deaths of two police officers, he was also the top suspect in the hospital fire.

Although there was the possibility that he'd had help from Carolyn Matthews aka Crazy Nurse Matthews, not to mention Daniel Bartend and Henry who were all wanted people as well, the charges including Joe's abduction and the deaths of Phil and Seth Cohen.

"If Ryan is here, he will be a very dangerous man, hell-bent on revenge for his brother's death." Fenton thought things were about to get even more complicated.

They had to find him and fast...his sons' lives depended on it. Fenton had yet to hear from Sam who was working on the hospital case and had left to follow up on a development that had been brought to their attention.

"Well," Callie began calmly, "After we left the courthouse..." She glanced at Frank before turning back to his father. "It was my idea to drive to the college campus because I wanted to show Frank my new apartment." She said. "We were going to grab a bite to eat...and then we came out here and found my car like this."

She shivered, glancing at the message again.

"Have you talked to anyone or noticed anyone acting suspiciously." Con took out a notepad to jot down information.

"Just those three nasty girls in the lobby that were hitting on Frank." Callie answered with annoyance in her voice. "If they think they're going to get their hands on him, they've got another thing coming."

Fenton and Con just grinned at the comment.

Frank blushed in response. He cleared his throat. "The only reason I was talking to them was to ask if they saw that dark-haired kid." He quickly changed the subject. "Although, I don't know how those girls noticed anything with all the chit chatting and carrying on they were doing. Then again they noticed me only when I got their attention."

That got Fenton's attention, "Dark haired kid?" His mind immediately went to the image of the dark-haired figure in a red shirt from the security footage from the shooting range.

Frank quickly explained to his father and Con about the mysterious dark haired kid who'd been in the lobby sitting on a red chair.

"I couldn't see his face clearly; he was kind of slumped down in a chair with his face buried in a magazine, he had a red cap on his head." Damn it he saw that kid ...but why...what is it about that kid that was bothering him? Did he have something to do with this? Who was this kid?

"I do remember when we first got here we were walking through the parking lot towards the apartment building when a strange feeling came over me. It felt like I was being watched, but I didn't see anyone. There were people walking around but nothing that would cause suspicion."

Frank kept a protective arm around Callie's waist as he spoke. "Maybe this proves that I'm not being paranoid after all." God, he hoped so. "That someone really is watching me. And that someone really was watching me those last two times on my morning runs to the pier on Shore Road. And that someone has a connection to Hayden's real killer...or maybe the murderer himself. We have to find this person."

"You could be right." Fenton nodded. He paused for a moment, Frank wasn't going to like the next thing he had to say, and truthfully he didn't like it either. He huffed. "There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"We, as in you and me, have to stay out of it."

"What the hell for?" This came out a little more forcefully than Frank had intended.

Fenton kept his voice firm and steady. "Frank you're still considered a suspect in Hayden's murder. This means we can't investigate because if whoever vandalized Callie's car and left that message does in fact have a connection to Hayden's killer, we would be violating the judge's court order."

Frank narrowed his eyes at his father; he couldn't hide his anger anymore. "Damn!" He exploded; he could no longer keep his rage inside.

"Frank!" Callie was surprised at Frank's outburst.

Frank took a step back in order to calm down...he hated going off on his father; it always made him feel bad. He turned around and ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. His emotions were all over the place...and he was so tired...he hated being depressed.

Once calm he turned back around to face his father. "Dad, I'm sorry, I don't mean to go off on you...it's just, we have to find Hayden's real killer, because if Ryan is here and he thinks I murdered his brother he's going to be out for blood. Joe and I are walking targets."

"Does this mean I'm a target too?" Callie piped in worriedly.

"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of. You, our friends, everyone around us. What happened to Phil can't happen again."

Fenton bit the tip of his tongue to stop his temper. He was going to have to have a talk with the boys later about their disrespectful attitudes.

He took a deep, calming breath. "Son, I understand the reason you're angry and I agree about your friends being targets. This is a very complicated situation and it's going to take a lot of thinking on my part to figure out what to do next."

"Callie, for your safety, I think it is best that you stay with your parents." Fenton suggested. "Do not come back here until everything is over and the perpetrators are caught."

He cared a great deal about this young woman and knew how much she meant to his son. If anything were to happen to Callie, it would be devastating.

"We can also have a squad car outside your parents' house as a precaution." Con offered. "We'll do the same for you and your family, Fenton."

"Thank you Con." Fenton said gratefully. It was a comfort to know his family would be well protected.

"I agree." Frank would be damned if he let anything happen to the woman he loved.

"Does that mean I can't see you?" Callie protested the idea.

"It'd make me feel better to know that you were safe with your parents."

"I don't want to be away from you." She looked up at his brown eyes that made her weak in the knees.

The thought of not being able to be around Frank was not setting well with her. She wanted to be with him always. They'd just shared an intimate moment, a moment that had strengthened their relationship... they were engaged to be married for goodness sakes!

However, she understood the situation they were facing was dire...Frank and Joe's lives had been threatened; Callie would do as she was asked.

"Alright," Callie sighed as she gave in.

"Thank you." Frank said relieved. He put an arm around her and pulled her close to him and then kissed her forehead. 'We'll work something out so we can see each other I promise." He released her keeping her close to him.

"I'll inform the Chief of what's going on and that Ryan Hayden could be in Bayport." Con replied, as he finished writing in his note pad.

"What about my car?" Callie inquired; she tilted her head inquisitively.

"We'll have it towed to a shop for repairs."

'What about the dark- haired kid Frank saw? He might be important."

"That is, if we can find him," Fenton answered. "Unfortunately 'a dark haired kid wearing a red cap' is a pretty vague description."

Con wanted to do everything and anything he could to help clear Frank's name. And if Ryan Hayden was in fact still in Bayport, the officer wanted more than anything to catch him...after all, Hayden was responsible for killing two of his fellow officers. As he continued to think about it, he realized Callie did have a point, the dark haired kid could be important.

"It might be a long shot," he said slowly. "But we could try and ask the other residents in the building if they've seen a kid fitting that description."

"We could treat this as a case of vandalism." Fenton said thinking out loud, "The kid is a person of interest in the vandalism of property."

"Does that mean you're going to let me help?" Frank asked hopefully. "I mean, most of the residents are college students; they'd probably feel more comfortable talking to me than to a couple of police officers."

Mulling over the information, what his son had said _did _make sense. Fenton glanced over at Con before answering. "Alright, you can at least until we know for sure this kid has a connection to Hayden's murder, then we'll have turn the case over to someone else."

Frank smiled, relieved his father agreed.

"I want to help too." Callie chimed in. "It'll be a great way to get to know my neighbors". She linked her arm through Frank's. "Besides, I want to be there in case those nasty girls are around."

"Callie." Frank groaned, his face blushing a deep red. Fenton and Con managed to stifle their laughs at the young couple's expense.

"Detective Hardy! Officer Riley! Look what I found."

The group turned to see Officer Baker walking towards them, a white handkerchief wrapped around a can of black spray paint.

"Where did you find that?" Con asked in shock.

"It was over by the bushes, next to the sign for student parking. It looks like it's been used, there's still residue of paint around the nozzle."

"You just found it there?" Con glanced over at the indicated sign.

"Yes sir."

"That's kind of a coincidence don't you think?" Fenton replied, looking at what the officer held.

"Yeah almost too easy as if he wanted us to find it." Frank said picking up on what his father was thinking. "Either that or he got careless...he could have heard someone walking by and didn't want to get caught. He might've just thrown the spray can into the bushes and took off."

"That's a good theory." Fenton praised his son. It was good to hear Frank's detective side kicking in.

He quickly threw his own thoughts out into the open. "However I'm not sure Ryan would be that careless, leaving evidence behind like that. If he's going to attack, he's going to be smart about it."

"Well, we can still take it to the lab to check for fingerprints." Con answered. "Hopefully, it'll give us a clue. Baker why don't you check all our local hardware stores and see if they have any recent records of anyone buying a can of black spray paint? While you're doing that, I'll call the Chief and give him an update."

"Yes, Sir," Officer Baker left to follow Con's order.

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

Now the Hardys' were alone. "Okay, let's go talk to the residents." Frank took Callie's hand in his as his girlfriend nodded her agreement. Looking back up at the apartment building, Frank stopped in his tracks as another flashback started. The second floor of the hospital exploding into a fiery inferno...seeing the hole in the floor. The room he'd shared with Joe had been directly above the impacted room. Callie as well as Fenton noticed Frank's pale face and heavy breathing, stopping in their tracks.

"Frank. Baby, are you okay?" Callie asked anxiously.

Frank continued to breathe heavily...he couldn't stop the images. Joe...he had to protect...Joe!

"Frank, calm down and answer us. Are you okay?"

Blinking as he forced the thoughts away, Frank shook his head as he focused on his father's voice.

"Dad, where's Joe...why didn't he come with you?" Frank took a few deep breaths to calm down. "He wasn't with you yesterday when you came to visit me in jail. Just an hour ago I called you and told you about Callie's car being vandalized. If Joe knew I was in trouble, he'd be here."

His mind began to panic once more...if it was Ryan...Oh my God, Joe! He had to protect Joe!

"Your brother is at home."

Frank quickly shook the thoughts out of his head; the inferno caused by the fire was gone to be replaced by Callie's apartment building. What had just happened? Frank began to once again calm down.

"He's at home?" He repeated slowly to Fenton.

"That's right."

"I left as soon as you called...I didn't tell him."

"Why?"

Fenton regretted not telling Joe. "I know I should've told him but he's not exactly speaking to me after the blow up we had this morning while in the courthouse parking lot. Let's just say your mother and I had a very quiet ride home. As soon as we got to the house, your brother got out of the car and hurried into the house, using his crutches to go straight to his room. He's been there ever since."

"What's this fight about? Why are you two arguing?" Frank asked curiously as he processed his father's words. He was growing greatly concerned about his brother.

"I can't really discuss this with you, due to the fact it has to do with Hayden's murder case, but I'll just say this," Fenton replied "Joe and I came across some evidence yesterday that may or may not make things worse for you."

Frank raised an eyebrow at his father's words as his father continued to speak. "I had to make a very difficult decision and because of that decision Joe is very angry with me."

Fenton finished as the image of the dark-haired figure in a red shirt from the security footage from the shooting range flashed in his head. He knew without a doubt it wasn't Frank on that tape stealing the gun. The gun that was later found at the crime scene where Hayden was murdered.

That tape could make things worse for Frank's case...it could even get him convicted as Joe had said. In spite of that Fenton still believed that turning the disc over to Chief Collig was the right thing to do; even if it caused some friction regarding his younger son. And he really wasn't sure how Frank would react to his decision either.

So the fight between his brother and father had to do with him. Now Frank was really curious as what the new evidence was. "Dad you know that by not telling him, you're adding fuel to the fire. He's going to be furious about this."

"I know." Fenton was doing his best to explain things. He knew there was no excuse for his not telling Joe about Frank's phone call and the fact that he was in trouble.

"It's just that Joe has become so bitter about our justice system. I know he's going through stuff as well. Joe thinks that since the judge barred us from the case that he should be a part of it."

"The fact that I won't let him work it is another reason for his being mad at me. He wants so badly to clear your name, Frank. You know what your brother is like when it comes to rushing into things without thinking... I'm worried this will cause a lapse in judgment that will hinder the investigation or worse still, cost him his life."

"Your brother's a loose cannon right now. And I have no ideas to how he'll react to this newest threat against you both as well as the possibility of Ryan Hayden hiding somewhere."

"Dad, one way or another, Joe has to know so that he can stay alert and ready, just in case this newest threat is carried out."

Frank looked at the message on Callie's vandalized car, **_Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!_**** He pointed at the shredded front tires. ** "This may be just a warning...next time someone could get hurt or worse."

"I know. You're right." Fenton agreed.

Frank looked up at the apartment building. " We'll be back, the dark haired kid can wait."

He looked back at his father. "Right now we need to go home. You're going to need my help to talk to Joe."


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone thank you to those who've left me wonderful reviews, following, favorites, or just reading you are all awesome. Here is my new chapter I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes, I did this chapter on my own.

**I will be starting the next chapter soon I am looking for a new beta reader, If you've read my story and are interested helping me with editing and grammar, please PM me. If you agree be** **honest, if you need a break or don't want to help then tell me I'm pretty reasonable and won't get angry, just don't leave me hanging, that's I'll I ask, thank you.**

**please let me know what you think**

A brother's revenge chapter 10

"Frank!"

Joe's eyes snapped open, breathing heavily. He wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead. He looked around until his eyes landed on his crutches propped up next to the wall beside him, realizing he was in his room lying on his bed. He looked at the time on his phone laying on the nightstand, read 2:00 pm. He winced when a twinge of pain shot up his leg as he got himself up, he swung his legs over the bed and held on to the edge of the mattress for support. Finally, he got himself together.

The last thing he remembered as soon as they got home, he got out of the car as quickly as he could with his crutches refusing to talk to his father. Oh, he was so angry with him! He hurried into the house and up to his room slamming the door shut and plopped down on his bed and must have fallen asleep.

He hated fighting with his father. He knew it was wrong of him to speak to him the way he did. For some reason his father just seemed to be an easy target to project his anger out on him instead of the people, he's really angry with.

He certainly was not going to let anyone frame his brother for murder. He hit a fist against the mattress out of frustration, batting away tears, God, I can't lose Frank... He made a vow to find Hayden's real killer and that is what he's going to do.

Quickly going into detective mode, he thought of the dark-haired figure from the security footage from the shooting range. He had a feeling that guy maybe the key to clearing his brother's name. Joe was going to find him.

If only he could take a look at the footage one more time, he knew it needed to be enhanced to see the dark-haired figure more clearly, all he needed to do was find someone to help him do just that. Joe wasn't that good with computers and all that tech mumbo jumbo. Frank could do it, because that was his area of expertise, only the problem was Frank couldn't get involved because it would be violating the judge's court order. There had to be someone who could help him, all Joe had to do was get his hands on that disc.

Unfortunately, Chief Collig had it. But...wait, wait, Joe thought slowly, Dad has the other copy somewhere in his office...it's probably in his safe...it's where he keeps all his important documents...that had to be where the disc was. If I could get my hands on it...No, no, he shook his head, what am I thinking! he couldn't do that. Dad's office is off limits. No one's allowed in there without Fenton Hardy's permission. It hurt his heart to even think of going against his father.

Suddenly his cell phone ringing brought him to attention. He reached over on the nightstand and picked it up and answered, "Joe Hardy".

"Hey handsome."

"Vanessa?" Joe's eyes widen, Vanessa Bender. His heart was pounding at the sound of hearing that tall blond beautiful angel's voice. She lives with her mother, Andrea Bender, on a small farm on the outskirts of Bayport practically neighbors to the Morton farm.

"Yes, silly." She asked. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, actually you couldn't have called at a better time." Joe all at once felt calm, just talking to her.

"My mother and I were watching the news this morning about the murder of that man the police found and of your brother Frank's arrest. I was worried about you. how are you holding up?"

"As best I can." Joe answered her with a sigh.

"And your brother? How is he?"

Joe thought it was sweet of her to ask about Frank. "Honestly," He said, worriedly. "I haven't had the chance to really talk to him. The last two times were brief, during his arrest and this morning after the bail hearing. He went off with Callie somewhere no telling when he'll be home."

"But from what I could tell, Frank is being, well, Frank like he always does in dealing with this situation like this. He doesn't like anyone to see him fall apart. On the outside he's putting up a brave, strong front, mostly for my benefit, because he thinks he's protecting me."

"But I know him, I know on the inside he's a mess and it worries me especially with him battling his damn depression." Joe didn't know why he suddenly opened up to her like this, but it felt good.

"Your brother has depression? I didn't know that."

"Oh shit!" Joe cursed slapping a hand to his mouth, "I shouldn't have said that. It's kind of a private personal matter that Frank only talks about it with his close friends, family, Callie and Dr. Reese."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Vanessa's voice deflated on the end of the line.

Hearing the hurt in her voice, "Oh...no, I didn't mean...You." Joe mentally kicked himself for saying the wrong things.

"Joe, you're right...it's Frank's private matter, I hate gossip and I'd never go around gossiping about someone's troubles. after all, I'm still getting to know your brother. I want him to like me. Because I like you." She sighed, and added thoughtfully, "I do hope he's okay. And I'm here, if you want to talk. You can trust me, anything you tell me, will remain between us."

Hearing her say that made Joe smile, he only met her for a short time, he was already falling in love with her, and it scared him.

"Thank you, Vanessa. That means a lot to have your support. Frank is more than just my older brother, he's my best friend. Some people don't understand it, and sometimes we don't either, but we're very close, we can feel each other's pain." He placed his hand over his chest he can feel his brother's heartbeat, "Right now I know he's hurting, it hurts me too." Tears began to run down his cheek.

"Wow," Vanessa replied softly. "That sounds special. I'm an only child...sometimes I wish I had a sibling. But I kind of get what you're saying. My mother and I are very close. It's been just the two of us since my dad left when I was three...she's my best friend and I am hers. maybe it's not the same as the close bond like you have with your brother. But if anything, happen to my mother I'd be lost."

"That's kind of the way I feel about Frank. I'm still getting used to the idea of him leaving for college." Joe cleared his throat, and wiped the tears away, 'Anyway, I know Frank will like you. He may seem to have a tough exterior, but once he loosens up, he can be a lot of fun when you really get to know him...trust me he'll like you. You'll like him."

"What about you, Joe? So far, I've heard you talk about amazing stuff about Frank. Tell me something amazing about you."

"There's not much to tell." He replied grimly.

"Oh, come on I don't believe that." Vanessa said back.

"Well I do have this amazing gift at pissing people off. Always saying or doing the wrong thing gets myself into trouble every time. And then Frank comes in and kicks my ass after cleaning up the mess I made."

"Joe, you're so hard on yourself."

"I can't help it, sometimes I don't like myself." Joe blurted out, "Why do you like me?" He winced suddenly wished he could take the question back.

After a short pause Vanessa came back with a reply, "Well you look damn hot in gym shorts."

"What?!" Joe jumped nearly dropping his phone, but managed to hold on to it. He laughed his face blush he wasn't expecting a comment like that.

"One day during girls' gym class, we were outside warming up with calisthenics, the guys gym class was outside too. And there you were on the football field strutting around, goofing off with the other guys, in those little red gym shorts and shirtless. The girls couldn't stop drooling over you."

"And you."

"Guilty." She giggled. "I'll have you know; you Joe Hardy are the hot topic in the girl's locker room. And now that you're a high school Senior you better watch out. Your popularity has gone up in ranks with the girls."

"Uh hey, I've never been in the girl's locker room. Oh, wait, I take that back there was that one time…only because Biff dared me."

"Tell me."

"I shouldn't..."

"Oh please...please."

"It's kind of stupid."

"I still want to hear it. I won't stop asking until you tell me."

"You are persistent."

"I know. Now tell me."

"Okay fine," Joe laughed and then began to tell his tale. "See Biff and me have these stupid challenges. He dared me to go in the girl's locker room for a minute wearing nothing but a towel around my waist, so I did, of course he had to come with me to make sure I didn't chicken out. Only when I got there before I open the door Biff snatched off my towel and pushed me inside, so there I was in the girl's locker room in all my glory."

"Oh my God!" Vanessa started laughing hysterically.

"I did give Coach Gifford quite a show since she was the only one in there at the time. I could've killed Biff, heard him laughing on the other side of the door. he was pressed up against the door so I wouldn't get out…but that was in junior high…I got detention for it and was grounded for two weeks from my parents, Frank he just laughed at me… I don't know how whenever Biff dares me to do these challenges, I end up in the buff."

He could hear Vanessa laughing in at the end of the line. "Thank you for the visual Joe."

"You're welcome."

She said in between chuckles. "Challenges, you mean there's more 'buff' stories about you."

"Oh, yeah, there's even a epic skinny-dipping story."

"Tell me." She said stifling a laugh.

"That's for another day, anyway." he quickly changed the subject. "So, I'm a hot topic, hu, what exactly are you girls saying about me? And I thought you said you hate gossip."

"Oh, I do, that's why I'm going to spare you the horny details, but I can tell you there's at least twelve girls who would say yes, if you asked them out. But don't bother, they're not even your type."

Joe scrunched up his nose and frowned, "And you know my type?" He ran a hand through his sweaty blond hair.

"I do. You're not into the Barbie doll, superficial whiney with lack of brains type. No, you need a girl who is strong, athletic, not afraid to speak her mind. A girl who carries herself with dignity and poise. She knows who she is and not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty. Someone who doesn't take shit off of anyone, a girl who can keep up with you."

"That is all true, but it doesn't hurt if she's hot, and sexy." Joe smiled. "So you're saying that none of those twelve girls fit that."

"One."

"One?"

"Yeah."

"Who?"

"You're talking to her. Hot and sexy goes without saying." Vanessa said on the other line.

"That you are, my Angel."

"Angel?"

"Yes, the first time I saw you Vanessa in the hallway at school, you looked like a beautiful angel, took my breath away."

"Aw," Vanessa cooed, on the other line, "That's the sweetest thing any guy has ever said to me."

"The last guy I went out with at my last school in Pennsylvania was a self-absorbed immature jerk. He would rather hang out with his buddies play video games. His idea of a date was a lousy monster movie, and a drive-thru dinner to the golden arches, He picked me up in this rusted out yellow truck that he'd named the 'Beast' the thing was practically falling apart."

"Then after we ate our cold food, he decides to take a moonlit drive to this popular make out spot, expecting to get laid, his idea of sweet talk, 'So you wanna do it?' Like that was supposed to be romantic."

Joe didn't know who the guy was, but he wanted to kick his ass. "So, what happened...did he try anything?"

"Oh, he tried, but what he didn't know was that, my mom and I took a self-defense class once because we wanted to learn to protect ourselves. And well the jerk gave me good practice, let's just say by the end of the night I had him crying in pain and singing soprano, when my mom came to pick me up."

"He sounds like a real loser." Joe smiled she's defiantly my type of woman. "You know there's more to me than those red shorts. And trust me you haven't watched a monster movie until you've watched one with me, and I'd pick you up in style and treat you like a lady should be treated. My mom would kill me if I didn't."

"Oh, I know, that's why I'm looking forward to our date, so we can get to know each other better. You asked me out weeks ago." She asked slowly. "The question is when?"

With everything going on surrounding Frank, Joe completely forgot about his date with Vanessa. "Well how about this Friday."

"Friday?"

"There's a July 4th community picnic at the Bayport pier that happens every year. It's a big event that kicks off the summer." Joe explained. "There's games and fun activities for the whole family and then later the awesome display of fireworks."

'That sounds like fun. I could pack us a picnic lunch, we could sit and watch the fireworks together." Vanessa replied.

"The only problem is, Vanessa, I'm not allowed to drive yet because of my leg."

"I have my jeep; I can pick you up."

"I guess that could work."

"Good, see you Friday, oh and I'm looking forward to hearing all about the skinny-dipping story. Bye handsome."

"Bye, my angel." Joe said as he hung up his phone. Finally, a date with Vanessa he couldn't stop smiling thinking of her.

Then his smile faded into a thin line as his thoughts switched back to his plan to get the disc from the safe in his father's office. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to risk everything with this decision? This could cause a strain in his relationship with his Dad, things will never be the same again if he did do this. He would never be able to trust him.

But it was a risk Joe was willing to take, clearing Frank's name was more important to him than anything. He didn't know when his dad would be home, it could be anytime, his mother and aunt were busy in the kitchen. So, if he was going to do this, he had to do it now.

Joe reached for his crutches and eased himself off the bed and stood up and made his way out of his room. He carefully made his way down the stairs that led to the family room, once he made it to the landing, and paused when he heard his mother and aunt's voices from the kitchen. When he was sure they were not coming out of the kitchen he proceeded down the hallway that led to his father's office.

He stood at the door with his hand on the knob, he took a breath and his heart was beating so fast he thought it could fly out of his chest. Joe entered the room, and soon found himself standing in front of Fenton's desk. Right above it was a family portrait. Now he was feeling even more guilty. He took a breath and went around the desk and up to the portrait. He pressed on the left side of the frame that opened to a safe...

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

Frank and Fenton had just arrived moments ago after making sure Callie got home safely, and explaining to her parents of what's going on and the police protection as a precaution.

Frank left the kitchen leaving his father to talk to his mother and aunt about Callie's car being vandalized and the threatening message against them with the possibility of Ryan Hayden hiding somewhere in town. Frank was on his way to talk to Joe; he made his way into the living room he almost reached the landing when he noticed the door to his father's office was open.

That's strange. Why is the door open? He thought suspiciously. Dad's in the kitchen...unless it's Sam. Suddenly the threat loomed in his head, Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die! Then he heard a noise from inside, someone was in there!

Frank cautiously went up to the room and peered inside, to his surprise he found Joe inside sitting be hide the desk staring at a disc in his hand. Frank's eyes widen when he looked up and saw the wall safe was wide open... it's where their Dad keeps all his important documents. It was off limits...to them. However, Fenton had told them the combination to get into the safe, they were to only use it if something tragic happened to Fenton while working on a case. Joe had better have a good reason for being in here.

"Joe," He whispered, coming into the room. "What are you doing in here?"

"Frank, I... didn't hear you come in." Joe looked up, startled, at his brother coming into the office.

"Did you open the safe?" Frank demanded. dad was right about Joe being unpredictable. He quickly noticed his sweaty face and matted hair, giving him a feeling that something's going on with his little brother. It's a good thing he caught him not a moment too soon.

"Yeah."

"Joe, Dad is in the kitchen talking to Mom. If he comes in here and catches you...I can't save you."

"I know!" Joe was trying to think of an excuse to give to his brother. Frank would see right through it. He huffed out, "It seemed like a good idea in my head...but now," he teared up voice filled with regret, "I'm so fucking stupid!"

"Hey, stop right there." Frank countered back, he hated when Joe talked like that. "You are not stupid, but what you're doing is." He folded his arms to his chest. "What is that in your hand anyway?"

Joe pursed his lips and stared at the disc again. He began debating on whether not to tell him. This was a part of Hayden's murder investigation that Frank can't be a part of, however the two of them have never kept secrets from each other, and he wasn't going to start now. "Something that could hurt your case."

Frank looked at the disc and then back at his brother. He unfolded his arms to run and hand through his hair. "That must be the evidence Dad was telling me about." He let out a breath.

Joe wrinkled his forehead, "Dad, told you?" He asked in surprise.

"Well, he didn't tell me what it was, he said you two came across some evidence yesterday that may or may not make things worse for me. It's also the reason you two are fighting." Honestly Frank's detective instincts were kicking in wanting to know what was on it.

"I'll tell you," Joe said, holding up the disc to Frank, "It shows you walking into the shooting range. You walked up to the counter where you were seen greeting Pete. Then it shows you signing the log and Pete handing you the gun from the gun case. Then the two of you headed for the double doors out to the range."

Frank nodded, "That's what I told the Chief when I was being questioned. I went to the shooting range Wednesday two days before my graduation which would have been Friday. Hayden was killed the following Monday." He began explaining to Joe, he felt it was important to tell him. He wasn't going to keep secrets from Joe. "I was feeling angry and frustrated thinking about Henry. It's his fault that Phil wouldn't be there to graduate with us."

He took a deep breath and reveal a secret about him that he told Fenton during his questioning at the police station. Joe was shocked his brother had turned down the honors of valedictorian, salutatorian, the honor of valedictorian would've and should've gone to Phil Cohen. He understood why Frank did what he did. It just hurt Joe's heart that his brother felt he wasn't deserving of either one.

Frank continued with, "I was still frustrated and angry about that, and on top of everything else going on. I went for a run that morning to clear my head, but it didn't seem to help. So, I had the idea of going to the shooting range. And it did help, I felt better," he added calmly, "I don't know I guess something about blasting large holes in a paper target was very therapeutic for me."

His little brother looked at him blinking after hearing his explanation, "Mom took you to your physical therapy appointment at 2pm. Aunt Gertrude was out running errands and Dad was out working on the hospital fire case. So... I went by myself." Frank sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "Probably not the smartest thing, but I did."

Joe piped in hoping with his brother standing here in front of him he'll get some answers to his questions. He tapped a finger on the disc, "We saw you on the footage with Pete next to you as you shot off a few rounds. After you were finished the two of you walked back to the counter to turn in the gun. You handed the gun to Pete and left the room."

"I did, I remember." Frank confirmed. "I lost track of time and was late for my appointment with Dr. Reese, I gave him the gun."

"That's what Pete, told us. He said he took care of your gun for you." Joe recounted vividly of two days ago, "A few seconds later, Pete walked over to the counter with the gun. Only he got distracted by two young guys coming out of the locker rooms in a heated argument. Pete hearing the commotion puts the gun on counter and goes over to stop the fighting."

"Within seconds the dark-haired figure comes back into the room wearing the same exact clothes as you had on, red shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and jeans."

Frank's mouth dropped at the mention of the dark- haired figure. It made him think of his mystery dark-haired kid from Callie's apartment. Was he the same person?

"The guy's face was away from the camera we saw him he picks up the gun off of the counter and rushes out of the room. The gun that was later found at the crime scene where Hayden was murdered. " Joe ended his explanation with frustration. "The problem is the footage on this disc is kind of shitty and needs to be enhanced to see the dark-haired figure more clearly."

"I know it wasn't you on that tape stealing the gun." Joe adamantly shook his head, "Dad, asked Pete to make two copies he gave one to Chief Collig and the other copy is in my hand."

"I told Dad it was a bad idea. If he had waited until we knew for sure, but he goes against me and said we have to do things the legal way." Joe scoffed and rolled his eyes, "for his so-called justice system."

Frank raise a brow he stood staring at his brother processing everything. "What exactly are you planning on doing with it?"

"Find someone who can enhance the footage." Joe slowly suggested to see if he could convince him. "I know... you could."

Frank couldn't believe what Joe was suggesting of him to do. As much as he would love to see what's on that disc. This was wrong, "Little brother...as much as I want to, I can't, but I knew someone who could..." Frank's voice trail off, he swallowed a lump in his throat.

Joe saw a tear forming in his eyes and sadness wash over his face, "You're talking about Phil, aren't you?"

Frank cleared his throat and nodded. "His computer is a little more advance then mine."

"If you had access to it...you could." Joe pushed a little more. Frank just blinked at him and took a step back to think calmly, before he jumped over the desk and strangle his brother's neck.

"I could but I won't." He answered working hard to keep his voice calm and steady. Joe opened his mouth to argue, but Frank kept going. "Dad has his reasons for turning the disc over to Chief Collig. Even if we don't agree with it, we have to trust him."

"Really, knowing what's on it?"

"Yes, now put the disc back in the safe, and let's get the hell out of here before Dad comes in here."

The brothers locked eyes with each other. Frank folded his arms to his chest; he was not backing down. "Joe please, you're better than this, if you want to help me. This is not the way. Put the disc back ".

"Fine." Joe huffed giving in. He did as his brother instructed. He put the disc back into the safe and took his crutches and walked out of the room with Frank.

Once the brothers went back up to Joe's room. Frank closed the door be hide them. Joe was standing at his window quietly. He turned around to face his brother. 'I'm sorry Frank. That was a stupid thing I did...thank you... even though I don't deserve it."

"Joe stop talking like that." Frank shook his head. "This behavior of yours has to stop. I was going to talk to you about something...but now I'm not so sure..."

"Tell me what?" He said, observing the hesitation in his brother's eyes. "Frank, what is it?"

"Well... you have to promise to stay calm before I tell you."

Joe was beginning to lose his patience with his brother. "Okay," he said, "I promise. I'll try to stay calm."

Frank took a deep breath, and told him about Callie's car being vandalized and the threatening message against them, and lastly the possibility of Ryan Hayden in Bayport.

"What!" Joe gasped, feeling his temper rising as he processed this bombshell.

"See this is why Dad didn't tell you about my phone call. He knew you'd react just like this." Frank sighed wearily.

"I am so tired of the shit!" Joe exploded red faced he couldn't stop his temper, "I just made a date with Vanessa on Friday! No way in hell that's going to happen!"

In a fit of rage without thinking he picks up one of his crutches and throws it sending it flying towards the window shattering the plated glass everywhere.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello everyone I am back so sorry for the long delay, lots going on. Thank you to those who are still sticking with me. Thank you to those who have left me wonderful reviews on my last chapter, and thank you to those who are following, favorites or just reading. And a big thank you to Bkworm4life4 for helping me out with this chapter. You are awesome. :) Here's my new chapter hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts.

brother's revenge chapter 11

Frank hurried over to the window carefully avoiding the pieces of glass on the floor. He looked down to see the crutch land on the ground along with the rest of the window. He didn't know what to say to Joe, he was just stunned by his brother's actions.

A twinge of guilt began to wash over him. He had thought that Joe was making good progress with his sessions with Dr. Reese. Joe had even said so himself. Frank should've realized clearly that was not the case. _Damn it! He'd been so caught up with his own problems, that he had failed to see that Joe was going through some shit of his own. What kind of a brother am I?_

He glanced at Joe noting his face was just as stunned. "Joe..."

"What'd the hell I just...do?" Joe murmured, his blue eyes widening as the realization of his actions. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"We're never getting off of restrictions, are we?" He added with a grimace, "No, I take that back, you will. You're the good son, as for me you can forget it. Dad's never going to let me work a case again, much less leave the house."

"Joe, stop saying stuff like that." Frank shook his head, "It's going to be..."

"No! Don't tell me everything's going to be alright!" Joe shouted, angry tears burst from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. "It never is! Not for us!" He winced as pain shot up his leg, and he held on to the wall for support.

Frank wasn't sure what Joe meant by that comment but before he could respond, Fenton hurried into the room with Laura, and Gertrude at his heels.

Joe quickly wiped the tears off of his face._ Here it comes,_ he thought preparing for a confrontation with his Dad.

"Are you boys alright?" Laura asked hurriedly. She was afraid for the boys lives after Fenton had told them about the threat. "We heard the commotion."

She noticed Joe's face was pale and his hair was matted with sweat, Frank stood by the window with a guilty look on his face, she was starting to realize something was going on between them.

"Oh, good heavens!" Gertrude exclaimed she pointed at the broken window.

"How did that happen?" Fenton asked. His heart was pounding in his chest. That threatening message against the boys had him a little on edge, and he thought for sure that they were in danger.

Joe exchanged looks with Frank, Frank gave him a slight nod, "Go ahead Joe, tell him. It will be alright."

Joe knew it was best to get this over with, so he cleared his throat, He confessed. "I got angry when Frank told me the news and I threw my crutch at... at the window."

Fenton went over to inspect the window carefully avoiding the pieces of glass on the floor. He looked down and sure enough the crutch was laying on the ground along with the debris from the window. "You're lucky someone wasn't down there!" He replied, he stabbed a finger at the window.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"You got that right. Joe, when are you going to grow up?"

"I said I was sorry." Joe shot back. He couldn't stop his temper from coming out. "Besides that, you should've told me about Frank's phone call! He was in trouble; I should have been there!"

"Stop it you two!" Laura interjected.

"I want to know more... about this threat." Joe said breathing heavier as his anger began to rise. His mind flashed back to...Nurse Crazy, Bartend... Hayden's younger brother...and Henry...his blood began to boil just thinking of that little lunatic.

"Joe, honey, you need to calm down." Laura said, all the while doing her best to do the same.

"No! If Ryan is here... that means there's a chance Henry could be too...we have to find him. He killed Phil and Seth…he almost killed Frank! I want a piece of him! Dad, please let me be a part of this case." Joe pleaded.

"Absolutely not." Fenton pushed back his anger, he was fighting hard, but he managed, "You're not ready."

Frank shifted his eyes to Joe and mouthed the word, 'shut up', to him when he saw him open his mouth. But Joe's stubborn pride and anger took over and he couldn't help himself.

"Fine, then I'll do it on my own." Joe argued, folding his arms to his chest. "No one's going to stop me not even the great Fenton Hardy."

"Oh Joe", Frank groaned, under his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, and lowered his head in disappointment. He thought about his brother's comment, as the threat flashed in his head '**_a brother for a brother, an eye for an eye...soon a Hardy boy will die!'_ **

There was only one thing he could do, even if it violated the court order, and got him thrown in jail, then so be it. There was no way in hell he was going to let Joe go after Ryan and Henry on his own. He wasn't going to lie; he wanted a piece of them too.

"Excuse me?" As quick as a flash of lightning, an angry, red-faced Fenton took a menacing step toward Joe.

"Dad! Fenton!" Frank and Laura shouted in unison.

Frank immediately stepped in between them before the situation escalated even more than it already did. He couldn't believe that he had to play referee between his father and brother.

"Enough!" Aunt Gertrude cut in sternly. "Have you all lost your minds acting like a bunch of buffoons. Fighting like this is not going to solve anything. We are a family for goodness sake so let's act like it. "

"Gertrude is right. This fighting has got to stop." Laura added firmly.

"Joe, please." Frank advised him. He was starting to freak out, he needed to force his own problems away and focus on Joe.

After a few minutes Joe finally calmed down and got his breathing under control and back to normal. He suddenly felt ashamed of his actions. He couldn't believe that those hurtful words to his father came out of his mouth. _What was wrong with him?_

Shamefully, Fenton took a step back as well. He began to question himself, _'Was I really going to put my hands on my youngest?'_ From the time the boys were younger and until now, he and Laura had always found it more effective to sit down with them and talk things through when disciplining them. And if they felt that further punishment was needed the occasional grounding would be put in place. Raising a hand to the boys had never been an option in their house. The way to handle this was with calm and rational thinking. Maybe now was the time to have that talk with the boys about their disrespectful attitudes however, before they could get this argument settled between them, he had to calm down first.

"I agree this has to stop." Fenton said keeping his voice calm but firm. "However, Joe, the first thing that you are going to do is clean up this mess. Find something to cover the window. Then you are going to take a shower and get yourself together. Once all that is done come find me, I'll be in my office." With that the adults left the room leaving the boys alone.

Joe's eyes widened, He glanced at his brother. "Do you think he knows that I was in his office?"

Frank looked at him. He must've been thinking it too. He sighed heavily, "I don't know." He shrugged, "It's probably best not to keep Dad waiting. You start getting this mess cleaned up. While I go find something to cover the window."

"Yeah." Joe pursed his lips together. He had made this mess literally and figuratively, therefore he had to be a man about this and clean up his mess. As he worked he mentally began to prepare himself for the consequences.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

By two in the afternoon with Frank's help Joe had all of the glass cleaned and the window covered up with a tarp Frank had found in the garage. Joe retrieved his crutch off after cleaning up the glass on the ground. Joe stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a fresh tee shirt and jeans and into his room where his brother was waiting for him.

Frank noticed Joe was shifting nervously with his crutches from one leg to the other. He put an arm around his brother's shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. "Do you feel better?"

"Not really." Joe sighed combing his fingers through his damp hair with his fingers, "I don't think I can face Dad. What if I say something stupid that gets us fighting again?'

"That's why I'm going to be in there with you. That and, to make sure that you two don't kill each other."

"That's not funny." Joe glared at him.

"It wasn't a joke." Frank retorted.

"Why are you helping me anyway? You shouldn't have to keep cleaning up my messes."

"I'm as much to blame for this as you are."

"But, I've been awful to Dad. I deserve whatever punishment he gives me. I almost wish that he had hit me, then maybe I'd feel better."

"Dad's not going to do that, Joe."

"He almost did."

"Yeah," Frank nodded, he had thought for sure that their father was going to hit Joe. Fenton had never laid a hand on them when it came to disciplining them. Yes, he'd scolded them when needed or gave them a stern lecture, but never his hands. "Dad's probably feeling guilty about that. He's always been fair and honest with us. We just need to remember that Dad has gone through some stuff of his own, as well."

"I get what he's been trying to tell me." Frank added sadly. "And he's right depression is a hard thing to fight and for some people it can be a short-term battle and for others it can be a long-term battle." Frank's mind rested on his words. He quickly blinked away tears as the rollercoaster of emotion began swirling around him.

Joe saw that far away expression in his eyes. That damn depression. He frowned as he realized what his brother was getting at. "Do you think Dad is still fighting it?"

"I do. Think about it, Joe, Dad was our age when he witnessed Grandad's suicide. He hasn't talked about it to anyone until he told us recently. He kept it a secret for years, going into depression because of it. On top of that he's been dealing with our shit too. That's some pretty heavy stuff."

"Now I really feel awful," Joe murmured.

"Joe, can I ask you something?" Frank asked changing the subject slightly. "It's about some comments you made."

Joe looked at him strangely. He shook his head, "You'll have to be a little more specific, I've made a lot of stupid comments lately." He said dryly.

"It was something about 'not everything being alright'," Frank quoted Joe's words, "It never is. Not for us."

"Well, it's just the way it is with us. Something bad always happens that outweighs the good." He answered his brother. "I told you Vanessa and I are going out on Friday. We're going to the 4th of July celebration at the pier. Looks like that's not going to happened because of that threat and I'm probably going to be grounded because of the window."

Joe went over to sit on his bed to rest his leg since it was starting to throb. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I haven't dated anyone since, Iola." He began rubbing his hands on his jeans. "I like Vanessa…in fact I think I'm in love with her. If anything were to happen to her...or if she's in some kind of danger because of me... I'd never forgive myself... I can't go through that pain again, Frank, I just can't. That's why the date can't happen."

"I know you'd feel the same way with Callie. Someone vandalized her car, but yet the threat was made to us, and against us. Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die. That's a pretty bold statement and to the point. And she's in danger now because of _US_. "

Hearing the sharp tone in Joe's voice made Frank suddenly feel cautious. He sat on the bed next to Joe. "I've had those same thoughts that you're feeling right now. You know, the "why" questions like, Why do these bad things happen to us? Why can't something good happen to us for a change?" Frank swallowed a lump in his throat as Phil Cohen came to his mind. "Why do the people close to us have to get hurt or worse? All because someone wants revenge on us."

"Maybe it feels like bad stuff always happens to us. But I'm going to fight for the good stuff, we have to, because it's worth fighting for, we have a right to be happy, Joe. I'm going to college; Callie and I are going to get married. You and I are going to have our dream of working with Dad as fully licensed private detectives."

Frank paused and then said, "my question to you little brother is, do you really like Vanessa?"

"Yes." Joe sighed.

"Then fight for it, don't cancel your date with her."

"What about the threat? What if it is Ryan?"

"I promise you, Joe. You will have your date with Vanessa on Friday." Frank said with conviction. That date with Vanessa was important to his little brother, Frank was determined to make sure it happened.

As Joe locked eyes with Frank, he saw the seriousness in them. It made him smile to have his big brother and protector back.

There was a quiet pause between the brothers, Joe spoke up first, as he elbowed Frank in the arm. "So, I take it things are good with you and Callie?"

"You can say that."

"Where did you guys go after leaving the courthouse?"

Frank blushed in response. "We, ah, went to the Bayport college campus. Callie wanted to show me her new apartment."

Joe saw his brother blush as a smile spread across his face. "Oooo…Was it a nice place?"

"It was."

"So... Did you two talk?"

"We did."

Joe wiggled his eyebrows and prodded a little more. "Did you do more than talk?"

A smile came across Frank's face, Joe had a feeling he was onto something. He liked seeing Frank smiling and happy.

"I don't want to know details."

"Good because I'm not going to give you any."

"Just give me a yes or no."

Frank turned his head away for a moment. It wasn't just the physical part of being intimate with Callie it was just an amazing feeling of feeling free and expressing his love to her without worry and shame.

"Yes," He finally answered, "And that's all I'm going to say."

"I'm good with that, that's all I need to know."

"How would you feel if Callie and I moved in together?"

Joe jolted right up as wrinkles began to form across his forehead, Joe just looked at him. "Move in?"

"Yes, that's right, Callie asked me."

"Are you considering it?"

"I am. When I come home from Princeton I'll be staying with Callie. Would you be okay with that?" Frank asked again. "You know I'll always make time for you."

Joe paused to think about it. As much as he would love to have Frank's time all to himself. He couldn't be selfish. This wasn't about him, this was about Frank and what he wanted. It was time for Joe to take a step back and let his big brother live his life with Callie. His big brother was right, the good stuff is worth fighting for. He so much wanted to have the same kind of relationship with someone as Frank had with Callie. Maybe not exactly like theirs, but someone to love, and to be happy with and to eventually have a future with. Hopefully that someone was Vanessa.

"Yeah, I'm okay with it. It'll take a little getting use too. You guys are engaged. I want you to be happy, if living with Callie is what you want then I support it."

"Thanks, little brother."

Frank's smile faded into a thin line. "Joe, there's something else I should tell you. You already know about Callie's car, and about the possibility of Ryan Hayden hiding somewhere. Well, there's more." Frank let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

Joe noticed serious look on his face, that matched the tone in his voice. He wasn't sure he was going to like this.

Frank quickly told him about the dark-haired mystery kid from the lobby.

"So... you think," Joe said slowly, thinking out loud. "That this kid and the dark- haired figure from the security tape could be the same person?"

"It's a possibility," Frank answered. "We need to find him; he might be important. That kid could be the key to clearing my name."

"But before we can move forward...we need to make things right with Dad. This time with a real sincere apology." He put an arm around his brother's shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. "We're in this together."

"Are you ready to face him?"

Letting out a sigh, Joe squared his shoulders, somehow finding the courage he needed at that moment. He finally nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."

With that the brothers got to their feet and left Joe's room and made their way to Fenton's office.


	12. Chapter 12

_(Hello everyone! I hope this finds you all safe and well, to see rl if you are reading his I'm not dead, I am very mush alive! I know it's been awhile since my last update... you can blame that on writer's block it stinks! :9 So I took a break and now I'm finding time to work on it. As I've said before I will not abandon the story it may take a thousand years...well, maybe not that long :P But I will see it through to the end. I hope you all will still stick with me... Anyway, I would like to say thank you to MargaretA66, Bkworm4life4, Drumboy100, Candylou, t4swp for leaving me wonderful reviews, Also to those who are following, favorites, or just reading. You are awesome! And a big thank you to Bkworm4life4 for helping me with this chapter you are awesome! Here's my new chapter hope you like it.) __( Oh, one more thing, please be kind to one another and be __safe and well__ :__)_

A brother's revenge chapter 12

It was two in the afternoon as Fenton sought refuge in his office after his confrontation with Joe. His temper had cooled down a bit to a more somber feeling. A single tear escaped from his eye and ran down his cheek. He stood at the window looking up the beautiful blue summer sky.

"Fenton, are you alright?"

Hearing his wife's voice, Fenton wiped the tear away from his face before turning around. Sure enough, she was standing in the doorway with her arms folded to her chest giving him a serious look.

He let out a heavy sigh, saying, "What was I thinking Laura? How can I lose control of my temper like that? I mean, I almost hit our son. Thankfully, Frank stepped in when he did, but he should've never have had to."

That whole situation had scared the hell out of her, things could've turned ugly real fast and there would have been nothing she could have done to prevent it. As Laura came up beside him, she could see that his eyes were filled with sadness. She could tell he was feeling guilty of his actions with Joe. She unfolded her arms and gave him a hug.

Fenton accepted her hug and held her in his arms, it felt so good. He needed that. He released her from the hug and she stepped back, both of them silent.

Laura spoke first, "I think you're stressed out and feeling helpless, we all are, especially with everything going on with the boys. It's almost as bad as when Iola died."

Fenton took a step back and walked over to sit on the edge of his desk, he ran a hand across his face, as he worked hard to calm himself down. "I hate the thought of them in danger. All I want to do is protect them. What if it is Ryan, who is behind that threatening message? I'm sure he knows about his brother's murder by now."

He continued worriedly. "Joe isn't making things any easier. He wants so badly to clear Frank's name, as much as I do, and it is so frustrating. My biggest concern is that he'll have a lapse in judgement and do something that would hinder the murder investigation."

Laura tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I don't know if you've noticed, Fenton, but Joe hasn't been the same since Phil died and the hospital fire. And there's another thing, Joe has always been very athletic and lately he hasn't been able to work out as he normally does, I mean those football workouts were a great way for him to release his tension, he hasn't been able to do that because of his leg."

"I've noticed that too." Fenton replied.

Laura sat down in the chair beside the desk. She brought up a concern that had been weighing on her mind. "Watching you go through your battle with depression over the years has been hard. And now watching the boys go through it, it's even harder. With Frank, he's still hurting and grieving for the loss of his friend. But I think he's starting to learn how to deal with the highs and lows of his depression just like you do." She added with a sigh, "He understands that mental illness is not something to take lightly, something that can't be swept under the rug, it's a serious matter that needs attention. He's got a lot of good, positive things going for him, he's got us to help him through this. Then there's Callie who has been an amazingly supportive of him, his going to Princeton... plus they're getting married, so Frank I think is going to be okay."

Laura continued, "However, I think we need to focus on our youngest at the moment." She shook her head, and wiped a tear from her eye, "We know he already has anxiety issues with PTSD from the ordeals he has gone through in the past. I mean who could blame him? He's had a lot of bad things happen to him, more than what any kid his age should ever have to go through."

Fenton scratched his chin and nodded. "Joe was pretty upset when we had to leave Frank at the police station yesterday. It's like the only way he can express his feelings is by lashing out."

Laura's blue eyes widened at the thought, "He's scared Fenton, scared of losing his brother. It goes back to that special bond that they share."

That had to be it. She began to tear up, "Frank is the glue that's holding him together...I don't want to lose either of them... Fenton, what if something happens...what if this threat is carried out, what if..."

Fenton reached out with his hand and wiped her tears from her cheek with his thumb. "Honey, stop. It won't come to that I promise you. I don't care how many sessions with Dr. Reese it takes, to get the boys back to one hundred percent we'll do it."

"That's easier said than done," Laura remarked sniffing back a sob. "They're more concerned with helping people with their problems then they are with their own."

"I may have an idea." Gertrude announced coming into the office. She had just put an apple pie in the oven for dessert after supper, and she decided to take a minute and see how Fenton was doing. She knew he must be troubled by that incident with Joe. "I'm so sorry for intruding; I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I'm fine," Fenton answered quickly, "Laura and I were just talking about what to do with the boys." He asked his sister, 'What is your idea?"

"Simple, it starts with you."

Fenton cocked his head and looked at Gertrude strangely. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Brother dear, the boys get their stubborn pride from you." Gertrude lifted the corner of her rose printed apron and began wiping her hands with it. She stopped and stood next to Laura's chair. "How do you expect them to deal with their issues, when you've never dealt with yours."

"Gert, I..." Fenton started to argue.

"She's right Fenton," Laura agreed with her sister-in-law. This was a sticky subject but needed to be addressed, if this was a way to get her family to stop the fighting and start to heal then that's what was going to happen. "You've never talked about your battle with depression and your father's suicide until recently, and you were around the boys age went it happened."

Fenton stood up and walked around his desk and sat down in his chair in heavy silence. Laura could see the hesitation in his eyes. She leaned over and cupped her hand in his giving it a light squeeze.

"Sweetheart, the boys may disagree with you on things, but deep down in their heart of hearts, they still love you and look up to you. I think that if you agree to go to counseling the boys would follow suit." She said giving him a pleading look, "Please Fenton, I love you, and I want to see our family happy and healthy again."

Gertrude could see the wheels turning in her brother's head. "I know you'd do anything for those boys."

Fenton took a moment to think about this. Laura and Gertrude did have a point. After all, it would be hypocritical of him in telling the boys to seek counseling to help them deal with their issues, when he needed to do that himself. Maybe it was time to put the past behind him.

Moments later, after saying her piece and satisfied that her brother would make the right decision. Gertrude left the room to attend to her pie, and began to prepare the evening meal and let the parents talk with the boys.

FJFJFJFJFJFJFJFJ

"Dad, can we come in and talk?" Frank asked after knocking on the door.

"Yes, boys please come in."

Fenton closed a file he'd been looking over, and laid it on top of his desk beside him. He leaned back in his chair as his sons walked into his office.

Laura sat in a chair across from him with her legs crossed trying to act casual, but she could feel the tension in the room. She wanted to make sure that everything went peacefully, and prayed to God that World War III didn't break out.

She noticed that Joe's hair was damp and that he had on fresh clothes. "Joe, do you feel better?"

"Yes, Mom, well kind of." Joe murmured, making minimal eye contact with his father. "The good news is the mess is all cleaned up, Frank helped me with some of it." Frank just nodded.

"Thank you, Joe, for doing what I asked." Fenton said managing to keep his voice calm. Both boys heard a bit of an edge in their father's voice and could tell that he was still a little angry. He continued, "Just so you know Joe, the cost of repairs and the new window will be coming out of your savings account."

"That's fair." Joe took a deep breath and looked at Fenton. He said with regret in his voice, "I'm sorry for breaking the window and for the horrible things I said to you, I didn't mean it any of it. When Frank told me about the threatening message and Callie's car being vandalized... I was just… I was just angry. I have so many questions." Joe began to theorize his point of view, "What if the mystery dark haired kid from the lobby, is the same guy on the security footage from the shooting range."

Joe took a deep breath to calm himself and continued, "He could be connected to Hayden's murder or the murderer himself. I just want to find the person who really killed him, so we can focus on going after Ryan and... Henry, because it's his fault Phil and Seth are dead, and he almost took Frank's life."

Anger rose in Joe's voice while he was thinking of Henry, he couldn't help himself. "This whole thing with Frank being accused of murdering Hayden is bullshit. If only the trial had gone the way it should have Hayden's sorry ass would be in prison." he ranted on, "we wouldn't be dealing with this shit."

Frank cringed at his brother's crude language; it wasn't exactly the best way to start an apology.

"Joe watch your mouth." Laura interrupted, reprimanding him.

"Sorry Mom." Joe said, his temper cooling a bit.

"I agree with you Joe." Fenton said. "I'm just as angry at how Hayden's trial turned out. There were many mistakes made, some of which were beyond our control. That being said, I still believe in our justice system, or I wouldn't be doing the job that I do. That is something you need to understand if you boys plan a career in this business. Granted, it's not perfect and sometimes a case goes bad and the bad guys win. The best thing, the only thing, that we can do, is not give up. We learn from those mistakes and when the next case comes along, we will be better prepared."

"I guess that does make sense." Joe simply said.

As the boys stepped in front of the desk. Joe froze right where he stood. He saw the disc on top of a file. Oh shit, he knows. His anxiety started to bubble up again. His palms were sweaty and his stomach was in knots. It was best to get it over with. He looked up at the family portrait where the wall safe then at his father. "And about the safe."

"The safe?" Fenton looked at him curiously. "You mean the wall safe?" He pointed to the family portrait.

"Yes."

"What about it?"

Joe cocked his head at his father's question. "Wait, I thought...we, I mean… I assumed you...knew."

Fenton shook his head, no. Joe stole at a glance at his brother, as he began shifting his legs with his crutches, he'd been standing on his leg for too long and it was starting to hurt.

Frank didn't say a word just scratched a hand over his chin as he realized Joe had just outed himself. He noticed Joe was acting nervous, likely on the verge of a panic attack. Then he thought cautiously. "Why do you have it on your desk?" He blurted out.

"I have my reasons." Fenton answered. He then asked more forcefully then he intended as anger rose in his voice. "Now what about the safe? And what do you mean by, we?" He shifted his eyes from Frank then to Joe.

Great, I'm batting a thousand today, aren't I? Joe sighed heavily. "I broke into it."

"Joe." Laura gasped; her eyes widened in shock.

"You did what?" Fenton growled. Laura saw a flash of anger ignite in his eyes directing them at Joe. She knew he was about to explode. "Fenton please take a minute to calm down before you say anything."

Fenton took a deep breath, then counted to ten to cool his temper. "It's okay Laura. I'm calm." He cleared his throat before addressing his youngest son. "You have some explaining to do."

"Great here we go again," Frank mumbled under his breath. He stepped in defense in front of his brother, "Dad, wait I can explain..."

"Frank, don't, you can't protect me this time. I did this." Joe cut in and stepped beside Frank.

He looked Fenton straight in the eye, and confessed to breaking into the safe. "I was going take the disc so I could find someone to help me enhance the footage to see the dark-haired figure more clearly."

"While you were in the kitchen talking to Mom and Aunt Gertrude. Frank came in and caught me. He talked me out of my stupid idea and into putting the disc back. And I did. It was wrong and I'm sorry, I'll never do it again. I swear." Joe fought back a wince as a slight pain went through his leg.

After he'd finished there was an intense silence that filled the room, as the boys waited for Fenton to speak. They could see anger smoldering in his eyes.

Laura caught the pain on Joe's face. "Why don't we all sit down and talk about this calmly?" She turned to her husband. "Fenton."

Even though he was angry, Fenton had also caught the wince on his son's face and knew that Joe needed to get off his leg. He took a deep breath and said calmly, "Yes, boys, please have a seat." He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.

"Joe, I appreciate you being honest with me." He leaned forward resting his arms on the desk before folding his hands together, giving Joe his full attention. "However, we now have a much bigger problem." Laura kept her hand on his arm just to keep him calm.

The boys exchanged looks with each other as they took their seats. "What problem is that?" Joe asked, gingerly rubbing his leg.

It hurt Fenton's heart to even say this to his own son, but it had to be said. He sighed wearily and said, "I don't know, if I can trust you."

Joe's mouth dropped, in shock. He turned the words over in his head. He stuttered out, "Dad, y-you can trust me."

"We'll see." Fenton replied firmly. "The thing about trust, is once it's broken it's hard to get it back. You want to come work with me, but what good will it do if I can't trust you?"

Joe shamefully cast his eyes down at the floor. He wasn't going to lie, that hurt.

"Dad, that was harsh." Frank saw the hurt in his brother's eyes. "Joe made a few mistakes. He's owning up to them." He was angry at his father for hurting Joe like this. He couldn't help himself. He felt the need to defend his brother.

"It's bad enough that you almost hit him." He said heatedly, "Why are you being so hurtful like this?"

"Frank, don't…" Joe said softly.

"You think I'm being harsh?" Fenton shot back, drowning out what Joe had said.

"Yes, I do." Frank said evenly.

"How serious are you two about working with me?"

"Very serious." Frank replied. "It's our dream."

"I want you boys to have your dream, however I'm not just going hand it to you. You're going to have to earn it. Show me how serious you really are about becoming private detectives. And please I need you to understand something. The hardest part for me is going to be figuring out how to find the balance between being your boss and your father."

Fenton took a deep breath and continued, "As a result there's going to be some changes around here. I've cut you both a lot of slack in the last couple of days because of what you're going through. But not anymore. It doesn't matter to me whether you're a high school senior or a college man...there's one thing I will not tolerate from either of you, and that is a lack of respect."

Joe looked back up at his father blinking back tears, He bit his bottom lip, his voice riddled with emotion, "Dad, you're right not to trust me... and you should've hit me, because I deserve it... I'm not good! You know it's true. We all do. It proves...it proves I'm not cut out to be a detective. Frank's better at it than... than I am anyway. He'd never disgrace the Hardy name. He's the good son. I am not. I hate myself!"

"Joe, honey, don't say that." Laura paled at her son's words; she didn't like the way that sounded.

Frank's heart broke hearing his brother talk like that. 'Joe, you are good. You made a mistake." He reached out to calm him down. Joe's behavior and attitude had him worried too.

"It's best I don't go out with Vanessa on Friday...I'd probably screw that up too!" Joe felt his anxiety kick up again. "I-I can't do this. I'm-I'm sorry." He said teary-eyed and breathing heavily. He grabbed his crutches and quickly stood.

"Joe, wait!" Frank cried, rising to his feet. he reached out to grab his shoulder, but Joe just shrugged him off as he ignored the pain in his leg and headed out the door.

"Joe!" Fenton and Laura cried in unison. They were on their feet instantly. Joe paid no attention to them, negative thoughts swirling through his mind drowning everything else out, as he headed slowly down the hall.

Laura turned to ask Frank, "What was that about?"

Frank sighed, took a deep breath and began to explain, "Okay here's the thing, you guys have every right to ground Joe for breaking the window." He had promised his little brother that he'd get to go in his date. He always kept his word. "Before the window, before the safe, Joe made a date with Vanessa Bender. He really likes her…he even may be in love with her. Which is why this is a huge step for him, this date with Vanessa is very important to him, but he's terrified that something bad will happen to her like what happened with Iola..." Frank's voice trailed off.

"When and where is he planning on going for this date?" Fenton asked.

"The 4th of July celebration at the pier."

"Is that even safe, with the threat and all?" Laura asked worriedly.

"Of course, it will be. The whole community practically comes out for picnics and fireworks, we can have friends and family from all over there. It's usually heavily secured with Chief Collig and his officers patrolling the area." Fenton reassured her.

"I can get Callie and the guys and their dates to join us."

"Like a group date." Fenton said.

"Yes, that way Joe's not alone, plus there would be eyes everywhere, in case Ryan...or whoever decides to show up. Joe needs this, Dad. He needs something good and fun to look forward to. "

"That's not a bad idea. We all use a little fun and something good for a change." Laura exchanged looks with Fenton. "What do you think?"

As Frank went to bat for him with his parents, Joe stood out in the hallway leaning against the wall in tears. He hadn't made it very far before he had become overwhelmed. He felt tired and exhausted…defeated and disgusted with himself... he contemplated the dreaded phone call telling Vanessa that their date was off. She was better off without him anyway… He could send her a text... but that would be lame... he could... he could...

"Joe, could you come back into the office." His father called to him.

Oh great. Here it comes. He took several deep breaths while quickly wiping the tears off of his face. Once he had gotten himself together, he made his way back his father's office.

He stepped in the doorway and saw Frank and his parents had moved to the sitting area in the corner of the room. Frank sat on the edge of the leather sofa, as Fenton and Laura took the two recliners.

Fenton quickly rose to his feet and over to him. Joe's bottom lip started quivering as a tear ran down his cheek. "Dad... I'm...sorry." He couldn't hold it in.

Fenton then did something that Joe was not expecting, he felt his father's strong arms wrap around him pulling him into a deep hug, followed by tears of his own, "I'm sorry too, son. I promised myself I'd never become my father...and I did with you. I regret losing control of my temper and almost hitting you."

He pulled himself back keeping Joe at arm's length. "Joe, listen to me." Fenton said, gently sweeping Joe's tears away with his thumbs. "You are not a disgrace to the Hardy name. There is no comparison between you and Frank, because you are two different people. You are good."

Frank couldn't speak; his throat was too tight, his chest full of emotion. He held himself back; this was making him feel uncomfortable. This was too much. He stood up and started to leave...

"That goes for you too." Fenton reached out with his arm pulling Frank into the huddle as he was trying to escape and he said, "I love the both of you."

Frank decided not to run and he welcomed his father's embrace and just cried. After giving them a moment Laura then rose to her feet taking her turn giving all three of her men hugs and kisses.

After a few minutes everyone had settled down and were all cried out. All four Hardy's sat back down this time calmer and with less tension.

"We are sorry for being disrespectful to you." Frank sat on the edge of the sofa. He was still feeling guilty for his bad attitude with his father lately. "I guess with everything going on we didn't realize we were doing it. Joe and I are going to try and do better."

"Okay, so what do we have to do to make things right?" Joe asked. He relaxed back with his back against the sofa. He was ready to prove to his father that he could trust him.

Fenton leaned back in his chair running a hand across his face. "Your mother and I have been talking about this and we think it's the right thing. As you both know, you are still on restriction from detective work, until you are medically and psychologically cleared."

"However, next Wednesday you two each have an appointment with Dr. Reese. If she gives me a good report, I will consider letting you work on cases again."

"We'll call this a probationary period. In fact, I'm going to implement counseling sessions as part of your training in order for you to become private detectives. This is going to go for everyone who's employed at Hardy and Sons Detective Agency to make sure your head is in the game and in the correct space before taking on a case."

Frank and Joe exchanged surprised looks with each other, Frank asked him, "So, when you say everyone, does that include you and Sam?"

"That's right." Fenton replied. It was time to put the past behind him and move forward.

"Your father has agreed to seek counseling with Dr. Reese as well." Laura said. "We feel that everyone is under lot of stress, especially with everything that is going on. We can't run away from our issues, we need to work through them, so we can be a happy and healthy family again."

Frank couldn't believe it. Their father, the famous detective Fenton Hardy, was going to counseling. This was a huge bombshell... and he smiled. He had to admit he was proud of his father for taking the step.

Dr. Reese wasn't so bad, she was really good at her job. The few times Frank had gone to see her she had given him the courage to be more open with his feelings. These last few days were taking a toll on him, and getting back to his sessions with Dr. Reese was the best thing to help him get his life back in order. He stole a glance at Joe sitting next to him, and his heart sank. Joe was staring down at the floor lost in his thoughts; however, he was rubbing is hands intermittently across his jeans, a sure sign that something was definitely wrong.

Joe had been going to see Dr. Reese as well. At first it was a slow process, and when you asked him how things had gone, his answer would always be a vague, "It went fine." When truthfully, that was not exactly the case.

"Joe, are you alright?"

"Huh," Joe snapped out of his thoughts, blinking his eyes. He looked around the room at his family looking at him with concern evident on their faces.

"Are you alright?" Frank asked again.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

All three Hardy's exchanged glances at each other, knowing full well that the youngest member of the family was lying. "Joe, how do you feel about going to see Dr. Reese?" Fenton asked him.

"I'm fine with that." Joe said trying to sound nonchalant, plastering a fake smile on his face.

Truthfully, He wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea...he could feel his anxiety starting to rise just thinking about it... the truth would eventually come out.

Fenton, gave Joe a look, knowing that there was more, but deciding to let it go for now, he went over to his desk and picked up the file that he had been looking at when they came into the office and handed it to Frank. "What is this?" his son asked curiously.

"Open it and find out." Fenton said, as he and Laura sat back down in their recliners, both of them hoping that this would give the boys the initiative that they needed to agree to go to counseling.

Frank opened the file to what appeared to be a blueprint of a building with several offices and a reception area. "Blueprints?" He tore his eyes away from the blueprints and looked at his father.

Fenton nodded. "It's actually the McKinley accounting office building."

"The one that's across from the coffee shop about two blocks from the police station?"

"It was up for sale and I bought it."

"You bought it?"

"That's right. I figured you two are going to want your own office space when you officially join the firm, so once the renovations are complete it will be the new home of, 'Hardy and Sons Detective Agency', Consider this as an early birthday present for you, Frank."

"Did you say, Hardy and Sons Detective Agency?" Joe repeated Fenton's words just to be sure he had heard him correctly.

"I did."

"I don't know what to say." Frank was just in awe. He felt happy tears in the corner of his eyes, this was amazing.

Frank turned and handed the file to Joe. He gasped in shock; there it was, his and Frank's dream, in black and white...it was happening!

"What do you think Joe?"

Fenton and Laura saw Joe's eyes studying every inch of the blueprint. They swore they saw a little spark in his blue eyes, "So, you really want me to be a part of this?" He said teary-eyed, his voice catching.

"Yes."

"Even when I mess up."

"Yes, Joe I-we want you to be a part of this."

"If I agree to see Dr. Reese?"

"Yes, and there's one other thing." Laura put in. "It's about your date with Vanessa on Friday."

Joe's hearts sank. He knew it, his date with Vanessa wasn't going to happen. He frowned and mouthed the words, 'I told you so' to Frank. "

"Frank explained everything to us," Fenton continued, "With that being said, if you agree to go and see Dr. Reese, as well as a few other conditions, your mother and I will make an exception and allow you go on your date."

This was not what Joe was expecting. After a long pause he finally agreed and said, "Okay." A smile spread across Frank's face.

It had been a long and emotional day for everyone in the Hardy household, as a result everyone was tired. With a nice relaxed family meal, it felt almost like it had been before all the drama had started with Hayden, Bartend, and Henry, everyone had been relaxed, talking with each other and laughing, it felt to all of the members of the house hold that they were almost back to being the family that they had been before the drama had all began. After dinner everyone was showing signs of their exhaustion and they all decided to turn in early for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day, a new hope and a fresh start.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello I'd like to thank, Drumboy100, Candylou, MargaretA66, HNB FJRAY, caseykam, racey losh, Delaney Mc, Bkworm4life4, Briella J, Sofia, t4swp for your wonderful reviews, love reading everyone's feedback and its a good feeling to know you like my story. It helps me to want to keep writing. And thank you to those who are following, favorites, or just reading you are awesome.

A BIG THANK YOU goes to Bkworm4life4 you've been a big help to me with my story. Here's my new chapter it's kind of a long one and things are about to go out with a _BANG!_

A brother's revenge chapter 13

Midnight. A few days before July 4.

Carolyn had no clue as to why Ryan had asked, or more like ordered her and Henry to gather into the kitchen at this hour to go over his plan.

"Ryan," She slammed her beer bottle down on the table while glaring at her boyfriend. She blew a strand of her raven hair out of her eyes, "whatever this damn plan of yours is it had better get us the hell out of this place." She was getting sick and tired of being cooped up in this cabin and she was more than ready to go.

"My plan will be revealed in due time." Ryan replied coolly. He leaned back in his chair and drank the last of his beer. "Once Frank Hardy is dead, then we will disappear from this hellhole for good."

"How are we going to get anywhere near him? This whole damn town knows our faces. Need I remind you, that you killed two of their police officers AND you set the hospital on fire."

"With your help." He shot back.

"Yes, I did. You're lucky I knew my way around the hospital. But don't forget," she reminded him, "Frank Hardy saw you at the elevator on the second floor before the hospital went up in flames. He chased your ass through the courtyard."

"Yes, but you caught up to me before he did"

"Oh, and don't even get me started on the whole Joe Hardy kidnapping fiasco shit." She ranted on. "Don't forget, Fenton Hardy lives in Bayport... I'm sure he's hot on your trail, and if he isn't he soon will be. We don't have Bartend to get us out of legal trouble any more. He's laying cold in the cellar along with that old couple that we killed."

"I had to get rid of him, you know that! Bartend couldn't be trusted anymore after he fucked up Jack's plan. Besides, we've literally gotten away with murder, long before we ever met that dumbass."

"I know. It's just we don't have Jack and Cindy to have our backs anymore. You know that Cindy was helpful in most cases; except when it came to her damn kid, but it was Jack who always took charge of everything. Even when things went wrong...he knew what to do... and now he's dead. And it's just the two of us."

"Carolyn, relax. I have learned a thing or two from my dearly departed big brother. It will work. Trust me." Ryan said responding to her rant. "Believe me Jack would be proud."

"I hope you're right." She huffed.

"My sweet, I've always taken care of you and protected you, haven't I?"

Carolyn nodded. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Her voice trembled. "You've been there for me when no one else has. I love you and I would do anything for you."

"And I you." He leaned over and kissed her lips.

Carolyn quickly wiped the tears off her face. "Now enough of this mushy shit." She said narrowing her eyes at him as her voice grew hard. "Tell me about this damn plan of yours. It had better be a good one."

Ryan replied with a smirk. "Oh, it is. In fact, part of my plan should be arriving any time." he said looking at the time on his watch.

"Someone's coming here?" Her eyes widened.

"That's right."

"Who?"

"An old acquaintance of Jack's. Apparently, they met years ago. He got into a bit of trouble selling illegal goods and Jack helped him to go underground and lay low until the heat died down. I contacted him earlier and told him about Jack and he's returning the favor. In fact, he's bringing me a present that will help us get rid of Frank Hardy. That's why we're up at this hour waiting for him to get here without him being seen."

"Okay who the hell is he? What is this present? "

"His name is Sal Mancini, although he prefers to be called 'Picasso'. He's an artist. As for the present you'll see. "

"Artist?" Carolyn repeated cocking her eyebrows up. "I've never heard Cindy mention this guy before. You or Jack either, for that matter."

"Jack and me were involved in a lot of illegal shit through our teen years long before we met you girls. Some of it involved this friend of Jack's."

"So, what does he have to do with your plan? Which I still haven't a clue as to what it's about!" She was getting pissed at his game.

He smiled coyly at her, picked up her hand and kissed it. "I'll explain everything once he gets here."

Ryan got up from the table and walked over to the fridge to get another beer. "And it's not just the two of us. We have Henry." He popped off the cap and threw it into the sink. Then casually leans up against the counter. He took a drink before saying, "He's already a chip off the old block. When he killed those kids, I could see that there's potential in him."

"However, he's still got a hell of lot to learn about his place in this family." He took another sip of his beer. "It'll be up to me to finish what my brother started with him. He's not going to be a weak, snively little bitch like his mother. He's going to be strong and fearless. He's Jack Hayden's son, damn it! I'll beat it into him if I have to!"

Ryan paused for a moment as he just realized. His eyes scanned the kitchen. "By the way, where is the little shit?" he set his beer on the counter. He turned his head towards the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

"Henry get your ass into the kitchen!"

Expecting to see Henry come running into the kitchen to Ryan's surprise the back door opened and Henry walked in from outside acting all nonchalant. He had on his usual black t-shirt with a red Spider-Man symbol on it and black jeans. Ryan swore it was the only thing that the kid ever wore, except for the new red cap that was on his head.

Henry shut the door behind him and walked in front of his uncle and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He popped off the cap and joined Carolyn at the table. He leaned back casually in his chair and took off his cap and set it on the table and propped his feet on the chair that Ryan had just vacated.

Ryan exchanged a quick glance with Carolyn. He shifted his eyes back to his nephew. "Where the hell have you been?"

Henry took a drink of his beer, and let out a satisfied sigh. He ran a hand through his dark hair, looked up at Ryan "Out." He replied his eyes darkening.

Ryan saw red.

In a rage, Ryan flew up to Henry, yanked him out of his chair by his shirt, forcing his feet onto the floor and knocking his chair over with a loud crash! He pulled his nephew close to his face until they were nose to nose. Giving him an icy stare, he said, "Listen you little shit, I ordered you not to leave this cabin. Where did you go!"

"Chill. I went for a walk. No one saw me." Henry lied. He pulled away from Ryan.

"What the hell have you been up to?" Carolyn demanded backing Ryan.

Wouldn't you both like to know? Henry thought to himself glaring up at his uncle. "Nothing." He answered out loud. Quickly changing the topic. "So, what's this plan of yours. Does it involve killing Frank Hardy? What do I have to do?"

"It does. If you fuck up this plan." Ryan lean down to look at him straight in the eye. "I will beat the living shit out of you. Do you understand me."

"Crystal." Henry replied unfazed by his uncle's threat.

"Enough." Carolyn cut in. "Ryan let's get on with your plan."

A sudden loud pounding on the door interrupted them. Ryan went to answer it.

"Hey, Hey, Ryan baby…long time no see." A man of about thirty greeted him. He entered the kitchen with Ryan. "Damn shame about good ol' Jackie boy. May he rest in peace."

"If it wasn't for him my ass would've been locked up years ago. Now I come to pay an old debt owed to your brother by helping you to avenge his death…and to get the son a bitch who took him out."

"Carolyn, meet Sal "Picasso" Mancini." Ryan introduced him.

Carolyn took in the man's look from his dark hair slicked back into a ponytail to his dark jeans and a t-shirt with a leather jacket over it and black leather gloves. She was not impressed with him at all. However, she was curious about the two large black duffle bags that he was carrying at his sides.

"Pleased to meet you, Babe. But please call me Picasso. You know, after the famous artist." The man said as he slowly chewed his gum. He gave her arrogant smirk followed by a wink. "I am an artist myself."

Carolyn just glared at him.

"Did you bring me a present?" Ryan said quickly getting right to the point.

"Hell yeah!" Picasso exclaimed. He placed the bags on the table. "Got it right here in my bag. All I have to do is put the damn thing together."

"Good. I need it ready in two days."

"Two days! Shit! That's gonna be tight! You can't rush perfection, you know. If you want it done right, you have to give me more time than that, I'm an artist! I got this stuff on the black-market, and let me tell you it ain't cheap either!

"How long will it take?" Ryan demanded.

"Depends. If I start working on it now, I'll let you know when I'm done."

"Fine." The younger Hayden brother huffed wearily. "This will give us more time to proceed with the rest of my plan."

"What's in the bags?" Carolyn said skeptical of all of this as she scrunched up her nose.

Ryan replied. "I told you yesterday that we're going to hide in plain sight. However, in order for us to do that we have to change our appearances."

"We've done that so many times already," Carolyn grumbled folding her hands to her chest. "It's getting harder to come up with new looks."

"I brought you new ones." Picasso said, he patted the suitcase on his left, "Trust me, Babe, you're going to love them."

"Don't call me, Babe!" she snapped.

"Touchy." Picasso snarked back at her.

"Anyway…" Ryan cut in before it could go any further, "this is phase one, so we're going to use the identities of the old couple in the cellar."

"Wait, who is this son of a bitch who killed Jack?" Picasso questioned cocking his head to the side.

"Frank Hardy."

"Hardy? Hang on a sec, he wouldn't be any relation to that damn Fenton Hardy, the detective, would he?"

"Yep, Frank's his son, in fact he's got two brats."

"Whoa, oh!" Picasso exclaimed beaming from ear to ear. "Let me tell you the black market is scary as shit and the Hardy name isn't exactly well liked with those who do business there. Let's just say if I were to take out the big fish, I'd be a very rich son of a bitch."

"Well, I'm more interested in taking out his two little fishes." Ryan replied heatedly. "More precisely the older one, Frank, but before we can get him, we will need to get to his baby brother."

"No!" Henry interjected, red faced and angry. He banged his fist on the table. "It's Frank you want to kill! He's the one who killed Jack! Don't touch Joe! He's mine!"

"You got the hots for him or something, kid?" Picasso crudely remarked. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Kinky."

"It's not like that!" Henry growled.

"Hey, hey kid, I don't care. Whatever floats your boat." Picasso shrugged.

"Shut up!" Henry exploded, as he jumped to his feet glaring at Picasso. "I'm not in love with Joe!"

"Henry, knock it off 'cause I don't give a shit!" Ryan fired back. "I'm going to get my revenge on Frank Hardy AND I'm going to make him watch me kill his brother! And if you think blowing up the elevator was bad…you ain't seen nothing yet!" He picked up Henry's beer bottle and threw it against the wall smashing it into pieces and landing on the floor.

Henry kept his glare on Picasso as opposed to his uncle. You hurt Joe and you'll regret it. He thought to himself.

Suddenly it dawned on Carolyn as to what the present was. "You're building a bomb, aren't you?" She shifted her eyes from Ryan to Picasso.

"Yep, that's phase two." Picasso said grinning like a Cheshire Cat. He patted the other black bag.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

After two long grueling days, Friday was finally here.

Friday July 4th to be exact. It was going on six in the evening and as Joe sat on his bed getting ready he was feeling nervous, stressed and anxious. Thoughts whirled through his mind at a dizzying rate. His date with Vanessa was in less than two hours. He had worse case scenarios of everything that could go wrong running through his head.

Things weren't going the way he had planned and hoped. There was the fact that Vanessa was the one who was picking him up because he couldn't drive due to his leg. He had reluctantly agreed to this stipulation that his parents imposed, even though it felt wrong to him, because the doctors hadn't cleared him yet to drive. He should be the one picking Vanessa up at her house, bringing her flowers, meeting her mother, and doing all of the things that you're supposed to do on a first date. And group date no less. What the hell! This wasn't junior high for Pete sakes! He cursed to himself.

However, Joe guessed he couldn't complain too much. After all he was still able to go on his date. He owed it all to Frank, and he couldn't be more grateful. His big brother had once again come through for him in keeping his word. Frank didn't have to do what he did in convincing their parents to let him go on this date with Vanessa in the first place.

Joe sighed, he didn't deserve this privilege especially after the way that he'd been acting out. He was ready to correct his mistakes and continue to try to make things right with his dad. He did love his dad and felt horrible about the way that he treated him.

His father had always been his hero, next to Frank of course. Joe thought back to when he and Frank were younger. They had always looked forward to their father coming home after saving the world from the bad guys. They would be waiting anxiously for Fenton to walk through the front door. Then the moment would come and he would walk through the door looking all tired, and worn out, but there would always be a smile that would appear on his face when he saw them. He and Frank would then run up to Fenton greeting him with excitement and hugs, and his dad would do the same in return. After the initial greetings were over they would then begin peppering Fenton with questions about his case. Their mother would often have to tell them to let their father sit down and rest, and to let him eat the dinner that she would have waiting for him.

Then right before their bedtime Fenton, even as tired as he was, would somehow find the energy to come up to tuck them in. He'd sit by their bedside and begin telling them about his latest case. Of course, he'd give his young sons an age appropriate version leaving out some of the more gruesome details that their young ears shouldn't hear, including more details as they grew older. The boys never said a word about it though when Fenton came home with cuts and bruises on his face, or bandaged up, because they understood that his job was dangerous at times and that he had to sometimes have scuffles with criminals in order to catch them.

Now that Joe was older, he understood and was still learning more of his father's job. The bad side of it was dangerous and gruesome and sometime the bad guys did win. Jack Hayden getting off was a good example of that. However, there was a good side to the job that Joe liked very much. The side that allowed him to fight for what was right and to help those who were unable or too afraid to speak up and defend themselves. And getting the chance to kick some ass during the process, didn't hurt either. He smiled. He couldn't wait to be part of it. Hardy and Sons' Detective Agency was happening! He couldn't wait to be done with college and work alongside his two favorite heroes.

Joe wanted to continue to build a trusting and respectful relationship with his dad. In order to do that he had agreed to go to counseling, a process which he was not looking forward to. His smile faded into a thin line and his head dropped to his chest. In fact, he felt sick just thinking about it. But he would deal with that when the time came. In the meantime, he had to focus on his upcoming date with his beautiful angel.

Joe got up and went into the bathroom and up to the mirror. He picked up his comb off the sink and began running it through his hair until he got it just right. He took a deep breath and stepped back. He looked down at his red polo shirt and tan colored khaki cargo shorts then back up to look at his reflection in the mirror. "I look stupid." He frowned in disgust.

"Joe! Aren't you ready yet?" Frank called from the other side of the door. " Vanessa will be here soon to pick you up."

Joe grabbed his crutches and slowly opened the door that connected to Frank's room. His brother was sitting on the edge of his bed, ready to go, dressed casually in a white t-shirt and navy-blue shorts, which looked really nice on him. Except for the annoyed look on his face. That was Joe's fault, and he couldn't really blame Frank for being annoyed, he had practically held him hostage for the last hour or so to help him pick out what to wear.

"How do I look?" Joe asked nervously.

Frank looked at the clothes his brother had on. "You look fine."

"You said the same thing about the last two outfits that I had on!" Joe exclaimed in a frustrated voice.

"Well I meant it the last two times as well." Frank said, which was the truth, but Joe was so anxious he couldn't convince him of it.

Frank felt like banging his head against the wall, He was getting tired and bored of sitting here and waiting for Joe to make up his mind about what to wear, he didn't ever remember him being this nervous before. This was almost worse than going clothes shopping with Callie. He loved his future wife with all his heart, but sitting in a clothing store while she tried on just about every outfit on the racks for an hour or two was his least favorite thing to do in the world. However, he did it anyway. Why? Because he loved her. As far as he was concerned it was the same way with Joe. He loved his little brother with all his heart and he would do anything for him. But truthfully at this point he didn't really care what Joe wore, he just wanted him to pick something already!

Frank wanted so much to escape, what he wouldn't give to have his mother call his name needing him for something. But he couldn't do that to his little brother. Joe was more nervous than Frank had seen for a long time. He sighed and sat where he was as patiently as he could, waiting for Joe to decide what he was going to wear.

"Aren't you guys ready yet? Callie said knocking on Frank's bedroom door.

Oh, thank God! I'm saved! Frank thought, extremely relieved to see his fiancé. As usual she was dressed to the nines, looking as beautiful as ever in a navy-blue scoop-neck tank top paired with white knee length capris and sandals. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She even had a pair of red star earrings dangling from her ears. Very festive and patriotic at the same time.

"Your mother sent me up here to tell you guys to get a move on. She and your aunt are packing up the last of the food into the coolers and everything else is ready for the picnic. Your dad is helping them load everything into the car. They're almost ready to head to the pier."

"Hey, I'm ready. I'm just waiting for Joe to make up his mind." Frank said.

"Hey, I don't want to look stupid." Joe shot back.

"For the last time what you're wearing is fine. It's the 4th of July. It's summer! Everyone will most likely be dressed in casual and comfortable summer clothes. Some of them will be sitting on the ground having their picnics and watching the fireworks." Frank said, frustration creeping into his voice.

"I don't want to look fine...I want to look... well I don't know…but fine is not it." Joe let out an exasperated sigh and turned to Callie. If anyone could help him out with his problem she could, after all fashion was her area of expertise. "Will you help me please?" He asked, giving her sad puppy-dog eyes. He shot Frank a dirty look. "Since your fiancé is no help!"

Frank threw up his hands and gave let out an exasperated sigh of his own. He gave Callie a pleading look that said "save me".

Callie suppressed a giggle. "Sure Joe, how can I help you?" she said walking into Frank's room.

"Oh, thank you, Callie. Okay how do I look?" He propped his crutches against the wall and then spread his arms out so she can get a better look at his clothes.

She looked at the red polo shirt and a khaki cargo shorts he had on. "You look fine."

Joe threw his arms down and gave her a sour look. He huffed out shaking his head. "You two were made for each other, you know that? You're even dressed alike."

Frank and Callie looked at each other's outfits and then at their own and then back at each other realizing Joe was right and burst out laughing.

"I guess we are." Frank said laughing. "We didn't even plan it that way."

"Well I guess that it means that we're already thinking like an old married couple." Callie said laughing.

Frank scooted over so Callie could sit down beside him on the bed. Once she sat down, he put an arm around her shoulders and she placed her hand on his knee and leaned forward to kiss his lips, as he touched the side of her face and returned the kiss right back. Damn he missed the taste of her sweet lips! Before they knew it, their lips were in a full on make out session, both of them oblivious to the fact that Joe was still in the room.

"Ugh! Will you two give it a rest" Joe grumbled out of annoyance. "You can do that later!"

The couple started and quickly parted their lips from each other, their faces flushed pink as they realized that they had gotten caught up in the moment. They held each other's hands as their fingers entwined together.

"Sorry Joe, we forgot you were still here." Frank sheepishly replied.

"Ha, Ha, yeah, yeah. I could tell." Joe laughed dryly. "Can we focus on me now? I'm the one that's supposed to be getting ready for a date."

"Yes, Joe, we're sorry." Callie said holding back a laugh.

A thought struck him, "Wait, wait, Callie hasn't seen me in the blue one." Joe said as he grabbed his crutches and hurried into the bathroom.

"Joe, come on we don't have time for this!" Frank called to him, but it was too late, the door was already closed.

"What is this all about?" Callie asked. "I don't think I've ever seen Joe like this before. Since when is he that into his looks?"

"I know. He's been like this all day and he's driving me crazy. I could kill him but I won't." Frank ran a hand through his hair. "His anxiety has been through the roof today. He wants this date with Vanessa to be perfect. But he's worried that something's going to go wrong and its going to be a catastrophe." He paused to take a breath.

"So how are you doing?" Callie asked concerned.

"I'm doing the best that I can. One day at a time." Frank replied with a lopsided smile. He was doing his best to hold it together. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't having the best of days and his depression was kicking his butt today. He wasn't in the mood for this 4th of July picnic. He knew it would be fun and exciting, and that his friends and family would all be there to join in all the fun. However, he was feeling tired and worn out and all he wanted to do right then was to be alone in his room curled up in bed where he could shut the world out and go to sleep.

"All my focus has to be on Joe right now." He was working hard to keep his depression at bay. Frank sighed, "It… This date has to go well. It just has to."

"Frank." Callie could see the worry in his brown eyes.

"In fact, I have a lot riding on this date myself and it's for very different reasons. I feel so guilty for even thinking this and it's not fair to put all of this on Vanessa's shoulders, but she's my only hope." Tears began forming in the corners of Frank's eyes. As he batted them away, he said in a voice riddled with emotion, "If this works out, I won't have to worry about him as much when I'm away at college, that is if I'm not in prison...or if I'm not here for some other reason. Joe will have someone else to focus on. God forbid... if this threat against me and Joe is carried out...or something happens on this date and Vanessa gets hurt or even you… It'll be like what happened with Iola all over again and I don't know if Joe would be able to recover from that."

Callie wiped a tear from her eye. She began rubbing his back and shoulders. Seeing Frank get emotional like this was difficult. He had called her two days ago to talk about Joe's behavior, the broken window and his concerns. How he and Joe were working things out with their father and agreeing to go to counseling. Callie was happy for them and supported this huge step that they were taking. She knew that it would be a difficult road for all of them, but she also knew that they would persevere and survive. If the Hardy's could face dangerous hardened criminals as part of their jobs, then they could get through this dark time and be back stronger than ever.

"Frank, everything is going to work out, you'll see. You're not going to go to prison because you did not kill Hayden. You will be cleared; you have to believe that." Callie reassured him. "Have you heard anything about how the case is going? I mean, I know you can't investigate, but... "

"No, nothing yet." Frank shook his head, "However on the vandalism case, Dad did talk to Officer Baker this morning and the results came back from the lab on the fingerprints that were found on the black spray can. They may have a match."

"Really?"

"Yeah the prints belong to a Bruce Linksy. They did a criminal background check on him. Turns out he was arrested two years ago for not showing up in court over unpaid tickets. Which doesn't make sense. Why would he vandalize your car and leave that message on the windshield? The only possible reason we could think of is that he may have some sort of connection to Jack or Ryan Hayden."

Frank continued, "According to Chief Collig, Linksy and his wife are an elderly couple in their late sixties. They lived in an apartment building in town. Collig talked to the landlord who said that the couple haven't been paying their rent for the last couple of months. The landlord was going to evict them, but then they moved out in the middle of the night two days ago without a word to anyone. Collig has been having his officers trying to locate Linksy, but so far, they are not having any luck. They have even been trying to locate family members and again no luck. He has asked Dad to help him locate him. Dad agreed but he is only treating it as a case of vandalism, until we know for sure on whether or not he has some connection to Hayden. Collig is going to be sending Dad any information he has and a description of Linksy.

"Do you think this Linksy person could have a connection to the mystery dark haired kid?"

"That's what we're hoping for."

"You know Frank," Callie said wrapping her arms around herself and leaning in to him for comfort. "It still gives me chills seeing the tires on my car slashed, and that threatening message against you and Joe. I asked my dad to sell the car once we get it back from the shop. I know its silly, but I can't drive it after this. I'm still getting use to the idea of having a police car stationed outside my house. I know the officer is there to protect me, it's just that it's a constant reminder that we're in danger."

Frank put an arm around her shoulders and held her close to him. "I'd never let anyone hurt you." He kissed the side of her head. "I have to tell you something. I have to tell someone, and I can't talk to Joe about this right now because it will get him worked up, but I think I'm going crazy again."

She pulled away from him a little to look at his face. "What?"

"I went for my run early this morning because, I'm trying to get back into my regular routine, but because of everything that has been happening I didn't take my usual route. I ended up staying close to home, so I went around a couple of blocks and then came back. The whole time I was on the run I felt like someone was watching me, just like before. The thing is I never saw anyone, just like I never saw anyone before. Maybe I'm just being paranoid again, but I would swear someone was watching me."

"Have you told anyone about this?" Callie asked worriedly.

"No not yet, but I am going to tell Dad, and I don't want to say anything to Joe just yet, because I don't want him to freak out. He needs to focus and have fun on his date."

"I won't say anything and by the way, as far as I am concerned, with everything that has happened to you both, you're not being paranoid," Callie reassured him, "but you do need to tell someone sooner rather than later."

She quickly changed the subject, "Back to Vanessa, I've had her in a few of my classes, including gym class and we have become good friends. Not only is the girl beautiful, she's a fun, caring, and kind person. She has a great sense of humor and is very athletic. And she doesn't take crap off of anyone. I think that she would be perfect for Joe and I can tell you personally, from her mouth to my ears that she really does like Joe."

Joe! Frank suddenly realized his brother had been very quiet for quite awhile. At once he jumped to his feet and rushed to the bathroom door. "Joe, are you alright?"

Frank grew alarmed when Joe didn't answer. He knocked on the door. "Joe?" Still nothing. "You better answer me, don't make me knock this door down." He was about to turn the knob, when the door slowly opened.

Joe slowly stepped out of the bathroom with his crutches wearing the same clothes that he had on before, but his face had a grim expression on it. When Joe had left Frank and Callie to change into another outfit, he froze as he felt his anxiety begin to kick in, overwhelming him, God he hated this feeling.

"I can't do this. This is a mistake." He said as he let out a heavy sigh, "when Vanessa gets here will one of you tell her to forget it. The date is off. Tell her I'm not feeling well or something."

"Don't you dare break this date Joe." Callie told him firmly, getting to her feet and standing next to Frank. "You will regret it."

"Yeah but...what if..." Joe started to say.

Interrupting him Frank said in a stern voice, "Joe, look at me,"

Joe looked at his brother as Frank spoke, "If you keep worrying and focusing on the bad stuff that could happen, you're going to miss out on all the good stuff that can happen! Besides Vanessa's already on her way here."

Frank continued, "There's going to be lot of people coming out to the pier for picnics and the fireworks. And you know between Chief Collig and Dad that the place will be heavily secured with officers patrolling the area just in case. Little brother you need this. We all need this. We all need to have some fun, and to laugh and to allow ourselves to have a good time. All of our friends are going to be there including Biff, Chet and Tony, and they are bringing their dates as well."

"Not everyone will be there." Joe said despondently, "Phil won't be there."

Frank and Callie exchanged sad looks with each other. Tears filled their eyes as their late friend came to the forefront of their minds. It still hurt knowing that he was gone and that they would never see him again.

Frank wiped the tears away and cleared his throat, "I know for a fact that if Phil were still here, he'd be telling you the same thing we're telling you."

"Yeah, Phil, wouldn't want us to stop having fun." Callie added, sniffing back tears. "So, what do you say, are you ready to have some fun? Where is the Joe Hardy that we all know and love? That carefree guy who is always the life of the party. The guy who likes to crack jokes and make everyone laugh. We all miss that Joe Hardy smile. You know the one. The one that can light up a room when you walk in."

"Joe…" Frank said as Joe looked like he was about to protest what Callie was saying.

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut off Joe's response to them. Laura knocked at the door and then entered Frank's room, standing near the doorway.

"Joe, Vanessa's here. She's talking to your father and aunt, and let me tell you I think she's a very nice girl. I like her already." As she smiled, Laura quickly noted the sad expressions on their faces, and knew that something was wrong.

Frank decided to try one last approach. He knew that once his little brother saw Vanessa, he would change his mind about calling off the date. "Joe, Callie and I are not going to lie for you. If you want to call off the date, you'll have to go downstairs and tell her yourself." He folded his arms to his chest.

"Call the date off? Joe, no, don't do that." Laura protested.

Joe suddenly felt all eyes on him. He thought about what they were saying and they did bring up valid points. And Frank was right. This was something that he had to do himself. Finally, he made his decision. Without a word he grabbed his crutches and hurried out of the room leaving Frank, Callie and Laura in suspense and following after him down the hall.

Joe carefully made his way down the stairs that led to the family room. Once he made it to the landing, he paused when he saw his father and his aunt talking to the most beautiful sight his eyes had ever seen.

She was tall and slender, with long, ash-blonde hair that hung loose down to the small of her back. With the way that the light struck her as she was standing there she looked like an angel, his angel. Vanessa Bender.

Joe drank in the sight of Vanessa standing in the hall wearing a white cami romper with a red floral print. The outfit showed off her long beautiful legs. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, God she took his breath away.

As soon as her conversation with Fenton and Gertrude had ended, Vanessa turned her head giving Joe her attention. Vanessa's gray-blue eyes and Joe's baby blues connected instantly and everyone in the room swore they saw electricity spark between the two of them.

Frank, Callie and Laura were watching the scene from the top of stairs with anticipation and Fenton and Gertrude also turned their attention to the younger couple.

"Oh my gosh. Do you see the way that they're looking at each other?" Callie gushed, whispering in Frank's ear. 'They're in love."

"I will strangle Joe myself if he backs out of this date." Laura whispered into Frank's other ear.

"We'll see." Frank said softly to both of them as he made his way down the stairs to stand next to Joe on the landing. Callie and Laura following close behind him.

"Hi Frank, it's so good to see you again." Vanessa greeted Frank with a friendly smile.

"It's good to see you too, Vanessa." Frank politely replied.

"Joe's told me a lot of things about you."

"All good I hope."

"Oh yes, all good. Very good. Oh, by the way, Frank congratulations on your and Callie's engagement. It's so exciting!" Vanessa said excitedly, "She showed me the ring the other day and it's gorgeous."

"Thank you." Frank replied.

Callie made her way to Frank's side locking arms with him. "Hi Vanessa," she smiled, "Oh my gosh, I love that romper you're wearing; it looks so cute on you."

"Thank you." Vanessa replied gratefully. "I love that scoop-neck tank top you're wearing." She said gushing over Callie's top. "You and I are going to have to go on a shopping date some time."

"Just name the time and place."

"Well, I think it's about time we head out, if we want to get a good spot to watch the fireworks." Gertrude said. "Vanessa it was a pleasure meeting you."

She stood next to Fenton who said, "Yes, Vanessa, it was nice meeting you, young lady, you are welcome here anytime."

"Thank you, Mr. Hardy, it was a pleasure meeting you as well, all of you."

"Yes," Laura said making her way down the stairs joining her husband. 'You and you mother have an invitation here for dinner anytime. We look forward to getting to know you both."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hardy. Hopefully you will be able to meet her tonight as she will actually be at the picnic."

"Oh good, I can't wait to meet her, you will have to be sure to introduce us."

As the adults said their goodbyes they headed out the door to get in the car to head to the July 4th picnic leaving the young people knowing that they would be arriving there shortly.

Vanessa pushed her hair off of her shoulder, and smiled at Joe. "So, you ready to go handsome?"

"Hey Joe, wasn't there something you wanted to tell Vanessa?" Frank said giving Joe a slight nudge in the arm with his elbow, breaking Joe out of his trance.

"Yes Joe?" Vanessa inquired.

"Huh? Oh yeah...I wanted to tell you something, um," Joe replied blinking. Now what was it? He started racking his brain. He felt his anxiety kicking in and he was worried that something was going to go wrong on his date, however, like Frank had pointed out, he didn't want to miss out on all the good stuff.

He did want to have fun, and to laugh and to have a good time with his friends. And to be in the company of the beautiful angel who was standing in front of him. He was a lucky, lucky man. He wasn't going to let whomever it was behind the threats spoil this night. Come after him all they wanted but if anyone tried to harm his angel; they were going to get the Joe Hardy ass kicking of a lifetime. Then all at once something clicked in Joe's head, he felt a sudden boost of confidence come over him. Something he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

Frank swore he saw the moment when a spark had ignited in Joe's blue eyes, then he saw a huge smile that lit up the room spread across his face. God, he missed that smile.

"Oh sorry, Vanessa, I forgot what I was going to say," said Joe, flashing her a witty, mischievous grin. "The minute I saw you my mind went blank." He went up to her with his crutches and put an arm around her waist pulling her close to him. "You better not stand too close to the fireworks, though."

"Why's that?" she giggled.

"You might set them off, cause you're so damn hot!" Joe said with a wink.

The four of them burst out laughing. That was probably the cheesiest pick up line that they had ever heard come out of Joe's mouth. However, it was music to Frank's ears, because to him it meant that Joe was slowly coming back to being himself and it was a glimpse of hope that things were starting to shift in a positive direction for a change. At least for tonight.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello I'm back again first off I'd like to thank those who left me wonderful reviews on my last chapter Goewyn, Sofia ,Bkworm4life4, t4swp,Candylou,Drumboy100,MargaretA66, and to those who are following, favorites or just reading thank you you're all awesome. And a big thank you to Bkworm4life4 for helping me with my story you are awesome.

_**writer's note:** _Sorry for the long delay I've been working on something big, the suggestion was brought to my attention by someone who's been doing a good job of helping me with my story and I'm concerning on turning this into a series, **1**. **Pressure, 2.**** Aftermath,** and now **3**. **a**** brother's revenge**) I don't exactly know how many installments there will be, I do know there's another one but it's still in the planning stages, but we'll see I guess it depends on your reviews and if readers are interested. So let me know what you think?)

Here's the new chapter hope you all like it.

A brother's revenge chapter 14

By 6:30pm the sun was getting lower in the sky as Vanessa drove through the streets of Bayport in her little red Jeep, traffic was light as she headed to the north end of town in the direction of the pier.

"I'm really excited about this picnic. This will be my first time celebrating the July 4th holiday since my mom and I moved here. We couldn't do much when we lived in the city but when I was a kid, she would always buy a package of sparklers for us." She giggled at the memory. "Mom would light one for me, I would pretend it was my magic wand, and I was a fairy princess, I would twirl it around watch it sparkle, and cast spells, oh I had so much fun! What do they do here? I want to hear more about these games and fun activities, are they really fun as everyone says?"

When she didn't get a response, she took a glance over at Joe in the passenger seat, and her heart sank. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts, staring out of the window and gazing off in the distance as if he was in some sort of a trance. She also noticed that he was rubbing his hands intermittently across his khaki shorts, a sure sign that he was anxious about something.

"Joe?" Vanessa took her eyes off the road for a second and looked at him. When she got no response, she pulled off to the side of the road and put the Jeep in park. She touched his arm, "Joe!" She said his name a little louder this time.

"What?!"Joe jumped out of his thoughts, tearing his eyes away from the window he turned to her blinking his eyes.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" His heart was racing and it felt like it was pounding out of his chest. He took a breath working hard to calm down. "Why are we stopped?"

She withdrew her hand off his arm as if it were hot. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?" Vanessa asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said quickly.

For some reason she was not convinced. "You can talk to me if somethings on your mind. It will be just between us."

"No, no." Joe replied. " It's not important. It was stupid anyway." Honestly that wasn't true. From the moment he had gotten into her Jeep his confidence had begun to fade and a bad feeling had come over him, a feeling that he couldn't quite explain.

Joe was trying to remain positive, he kept replaying his brother's words in his head, If you keep worrying and focusing on the bad stuff that could happen, you're going to miss out on all the good stuff that can happen! and he was trying to focus on that. He wanted to have a good time with Vanessa. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

It was the same feeling he had when he had predicted that someone was going to die and it had come true, Phil and Seth were dead! And Frank he almost...no! Joe quickly pushed that thought away. The palms of his hands were sweaty and he felt his stomach was in knots. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. Oh God, he could feel a panic attack coming on...God please not now, not now, not in front of Vanessa! The thoughts swirled with dizzying speed in Joe's head.

"I know you have a lot going on, but if you need to talk. I'm here ready to listen." Vanessa continued on, looking straight at him.

Get it together he told himself. Joe forced a smile onto his face and looked at his angel. He was touched by her offer to listen to his problems.

"Thanks, but I don't really want to burden you with all my crap, especially right now. Besides my problems aren't really that important."

"For some reason I don't believe that. Please talk to me." Vanessa urged him.

"Actually, Vanessa, would you do me a favor?" He said abruptly.

"What's that?"

He held a hand to his chest, God why won't this feeling go away? "Would you turn left at the stop light?" He said between breaths.

"But the pier is straight ahead. I thought that's where we were going?" She asked slowly.

She didn't understand why he was acting like this. She noticed he was breathing heavily and was growing concern. What was happening?

"Are you alright?"

"Yep, fine."

"No, you're not, you look like you're having a panic attack." She was getting scared of his strange behavior. Maybe she should call Frank, he would know what to do.

"Please Vanessa I'm fine really." Joe simply told her between breaths.

She threw Joe a questioning look.

"Just trust me. Please? Will you do what I asked and turn left at the stop light." He was working hard to fend off this panic attack.

She huffed and reluctantly agreed. "Okay." Pulling back onto the road she stopped at the red light and as soon as it turned green, she did as Joe had asked and turned left, taking them away from the pier.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

Vanessa began following Joe's directions. It didn't take long before she realized he was taking her through town. He had her go past the police station and a coffee shop then turned down another block before he finally had her pull up in front of a brown brick building. The place looked like it was in the process of being remodeled. There was a white van with a Prito's Construction Company logo on the side.

Vanessa turned to Joe with confusion written all over her face. "What are we doing here?" She noticed that he seemed a lot calmer now and his breathing was back to normal and steady.

"See that." Joe smiled and pointed to the brick building.

She looked at the building and nodded, and Joe continued, "That's our dream, Frank's and mine. You're seeing it first. This is the new home of 'Hardy and Sons Detective Agency'. The agency that we are starting with Dad and Sam. I still can't believe it's happening."

"That is awesome Joe, I'm so happy for you and Frank!" Vanessa said excitedly.

When she turned back to face him she saw complete awe in his eyes and a smile on his face. She didn't know why but for some reason it seemed as if someone flipped a switch and Joe had suddenly changed behaviors, the doom and gloom chased away by the bright sunshine.

"I'm excited for you. I'm also touched the you shared this with me." She smiled back at him. "Has Frank seen it yet?'

"No," Joe paused, "at least I don't think so. He'll probably yell at me for it, but I don't care. I wanted to share this little preview with you. And look the lights are still on. The crew must still be working in there." Then a sudden idea struck him. "I have to see it from the inside." He said anxiously, as he opened his door.

"What? Now?" Vanessa asked as her eyes widened.

"Yeah."

"They may not like us bothering them when they're trying to work." Vanessa hesitated. 'We might get into trouble." There he goes again with his strange behavior, she thought.

"No, we won't. I know the guy that's working in there. It's Tony's uncle, Angelo. He owns the construction company."

"Tony? As in Tony Prito your friend whose family owns that restaurant?"

"Yep." Joe said. "Dad hired his uncle to do the renovations." He started to climb out of the Jeep grabbing his crutches from the backseat. "Come on, let's go."

"What about the picnic and fireworks?" Vanessa tried once more to reason with him. "Everybody will be expecting us. My Mom is even going to be there and I really want you to meet her."

"Oh, don't worry, we have plenty of time." Joe waved it off like it was no big deal. "It will be five, ten minutes tops and then we'll go I promise."

I guess there's no point in arguing with him, Vanessa thought as she huffed and climbed out of her Jeep.

The two made their way up to the front entrance, Joe pulled on the handle and found that the door was locked. He looked through the window, and saw two guys wearing overalls with tool belts around their waists inside working. There was a tall guy up on a ladder mudding the drywall, and a guy with red curly hair was rolling up an extension cord around his arm.

Then Joe spotted Angelo, a middle age man of average height with a dark receding hair line. He was putting a drill in a toolbox that was sitting on top of a makeshift table which consisted of a sheet of plywood that was supported by two sawhorses.

Joe pounded on the door to get Angelo's attention. The commotion startled all three men, and resulted in the tall guy losing his grip on the ladder and almost falling off it. Fortunately, he caught himself before he did and began to climb down. All three men gave Joe a sour look.

"Joe, we should leave..." Vanessa whispered in his ear. "They don't look too happy."

"Oh, it'll be fine. I just surprised them is all." He reassured her as he knocked on the door again.

Angelo closed his toolbox and curiously came over to unlocked the door he opened it slightly, peeking his head out. His eyes shifted suspiciously from Joe to Vanessa, and back to Joe. "Yes, Can I help you?"

"Mr. Prito, hi, do you remember me?" Joe asked. The man shook his head no in response.

"It's Joe," Joe said flashing him a smile and pointed to his chest, "Joe Hardy?" He quickly began to explain, " My dad, Fenton Hardy, he hired you to remodel the new detective agency."

After a few seconds it finally clicked in the man's head of who Joe was, "Oh yes, Joe, yes, yes you're one of Fenton's boys. The youngest one, right?"

"Yep that's me." Joe nodded. 'And this beautiful angel here is my date Vanessa Bender." He said making the introductions, as he smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.

Hi," Vanessa said shyly while giving the man a small wave. She was feeling a bit awkward.

"Nice to meet you, young lady." Angelo opened the door wider and stepped aside to let the young couple inside, "Oh and please call me Angelo, Mr. Prito makes me think you're talking to my father, Lord rest his soul."

"You and your brother must be pretty excited about the new business and offices." Angelo said, wiping his hands on his overalls.

"Oh yes." Joe said beaming.

Angelo, having noticed Joe's crutches when he came in, asked, "What happened to you? I hope it's nothing serious."

Joe shifted from one leg to the other as he gripped his crutches tight. "I got injured on a case while back it's nothing." He really did not want to explain the real reason why he had the crutches. "You know how it is, never a dull moment in Hardy land."

"That's true," Angelo laughed, he asked. "So, what can I do for you two?"

"Is it alright if we take a look around? Just five minutes." Joe asked.

"We were just packing up and getting ready to leave for the night and head down to the pier to watch the fireworks and picnic with our families." Angelo said.

"That's where we were going but Joe wanted to make a quick stop here." Vanessa said.

"Why don't you guys go ahead and leave. I'm sure my dad will be okay with that." Joe suggested. "We'll lock up when we're done looking around." Vanessa just looked at him strangely.

"Well," Angelo said, "there's not much to see. We just got the electrical part done, right now we're putting up drywall and laying down flooring."

"I'd still would like to look around, if that's OK." Joe wheedled, "I promise we won't bother anything; it will take like five minutes. And then we'll lock up and leave."

"Right." the curly haired guy scoffed, "You must think we're pretty damn stupid kid. Like, we're really going to let two teenagers with raging hormones alone here at a construction site?" He then remarked sarcastically. "It's not that exciting, unless drywall and sawdust gives you a thrill. For all we know you just want to make out with your girlfriend, and if something happens to either of you then it will be our fault."

Joe's cheeks flared red with anger at his comments. Vanessa's face flushed pink with embarrassment, and all she wanted to do was to crawl into a hole and hide.

"By the way kid what the hell is wrong with you, pounding on the door like that! I nearly fell off my ladder!" The tall guy shouted.

Joe apologized, "Listen, I'm sorry for scaring you guys I didn't mean to."

"Yeah right, you kids are all alike you're good for nothing..."

"Liam! Craig! Enough. It was an accident." Angelo reprimanded his employees. He turns back to Joe he raised an eyebrow. "Is there any truth to you wanting to come here to make out?"

"Oh no! No, no sir!" Joe replied defensively. "It's nothing like that I promise."

Angelo, rubbing his chin slowly thinking of Joe's offer, said. "I guess it'll be alright. Considering you're Fenton's boy, I'm going to trust you at your word."

"Thank you." Joe replied with a sigh of relief.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

As soon as Angelo and his crew left for the night, Joe locked the door behind him and sighed. "Finally, alone at last."

He turned around to find Vanessa staring at him angrily with her arms folded across her chest.

"What?" Joe asked.

"What is going on with you?"

"Nothing."

"Your behavior is scaring me." Vanessa bit her bottom lip, as angry tears began seeping into the corner of her eyes. "I know that we're still getting to know each other but what happened to the guy who made me laugh when I picked him up at his house?"

Joe saw the tears starting to run down her face. He hated himself for scaring her and was making her cry. "I'm sorry." He closed in the gap between them and put his hands on her shoulders but she just shrugged them off.

"Don't touch me. I just want an explanation. Why are you acting this way? I know you have a lot going on. If you want to talk..."

"...it's nothing." He cut her off.

"What about your panic attack?" She asked worriedly, "What was that about..." He put a finger on her lips cutting her words off again. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

He let go of his crutches letting them fall on the floor as he framed her face with his hands, gently wiping her tears away before pulling her in kissing her soft lips. She pulled away angrily only to give him a hard slap across his face.

"If Angelo and his crew were right about your intentions of coming here so we can make out...let me tell you something Joe Hardy! I am not that kind of girl!" She shouted, her face red with anger. "But," She said this time keeping her voice calm but firm. "If you want to go out with me in the future. I suggest that you treat me with respect and honesty."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry...I won't kiss you again. Geez." Joe stared up at her; as he rubbed his cheek where it stung.

"If you call that an apology it stinks. I ought to slap you again for that and for humiliating me in front of Angelo and his crew." She retorted. She folder her arms back across her chest and demanded, "Are you going to answer my question? Why are you acting this way?"

There was a short pause between them and Vanessa didn't know if he was going to give her an answer.

"Vanessa," Joe paused, thinking for a moment before he replied. "This is the way that I am. I have always been a spontaneous person...a risk taker, I guess you could say. I kissed you on a whim...because I like you and I felt like it, knowing the risk of getting slapped," He rubbed his cheek where it still hurt. "It's the way I tend to do things. Just ask Frank. He'll tell you; he yells at me all the time especially when I rush into something without thinking. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but if you want to go out with me, you'll have to get used to it, because it's who I am. If you don't, then I'm sorry and I understand."

"Then why do you do it? Why do you act before you think?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"I don't know.' Joe said as he shrugged his shoulders, "It's like an adrenaline rush takes over."

"Well maybe you should listen to Frank a bit. He's trying to tell you something important, like he loves you and doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"Oh, I do listen... but when he goes on and on with his lecture it gets boring... then I end up tuning him out, and getting lost in my head. Honestly, I think I do the same thing to Dad, which is part of our problem I think."

"Don't you think your being inconsiderate when you do that?" Vanessa asked

"With Frank I feel like he understands me better. He calls me out on a lot of things and pulls me back when I start to drift too far... with Dad it's different sometimes I feel like he doesn't understand me...we're two different people, I mean I love him and all, and I know he loves me…" Joe paused, thinking for a moment, "For some reason I have this feeling of resentment towards him and I don't know why or where it's coming from." All at once Joe stopped himself...he shook the thoughts out of his head, "Anyway I'm done talking about this."

Joe felt his anxiety starting to kick in so he quickly changed the subject trying to avoid another attack. He reached down and picked up his crutches and turned away from Vanessa and made his way to the center of the room and began looking around. "This will be the reception area once it's finished. Dad will want to hire a new secretary and I'm pretty sure that Mom will be happy she won't have to hold that position anymore. I wonder who our first client would be?"

The abrupt change in conversation made Vanessa very concerned, but she didn't know what to do about it. She thought that she should call or text Frank and ask him, but then she realized that she didn't have his number, however, she could text Callie. Vanessa was sure that she would relay the message to Frank. She took out her phone from her back pocket and began texting, "Callie, I need you to get a message to Frank for me, somethings going on with Joe..." she quickly pressed send and tucked the phone back into her pocket.

"I wonder which office will be mine..." Joe continued on as if nothing had happened even though he felt his heart pumping rapidly as if it was trying to jump out if his chest. Man, he wished this damn feeling would go away. He made his way towards the hallway past the bathroom and then proceeded carefully down the hall. There was a large room with a sign on the door marked conference room, then he moved on down to the offices, he noticed there were five. Five? It was obvious his father would have one, as well as Sam, Frank and himself. But who was the other office for or was Dad going to use it for something else? Guess he'll find out when the time was right.

"Since I'm here, I can scope out the best one. Hopefully Dad will let me add my own touches to it. If I know Frank, he'll just make his all boring... Oooo! I know! I can put in a mini fridge."

As Joe came to the last office he saw that there was a ladder and several paint cans and plywood propped against the far wall. He leaned against the open doorway to ease the pressure off of his leg, as he let his eyes sweep over the unfinished room. He got a whiff of fresh paint and it made him smile, this could be mine once it's finished, he thought. He began to visualize what it would look like. "I'm standing in my dream. Not very many people can say that."

Then his smile started to fade away into a frown, as a lone tear ran down his cheek as he said, "But this could all be taken away in the blink of an eye and, it'll be my fault. It's always my fault."

"Why would you say that?" Vanessa asked softly walking up beside him.

'It's nothing." He quickly wiped away the tears from his face, then turning to look at her, he stared straight into her beautiful eyes.

"Look Vanessa, I'm sorry for scaring you and acting like a jerk. It was wrong of me to embarrass you in front of Angelo and his crew. And you're right, you do deserve someone who will treat you with respect and honesty."

He took a deep breath and said, "I do like you very much. I may even be in love with you. It's been a long time since I've felt this way about anyone." Truthfully, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. He looked at Vanessa and suddenly felt the need to want to protect her, he couldn't face another tragedy, not again. "And that's why it pains me to have to tell you that I think it would be best if we don't see each other anymore."

"What!" Vanessa gasped, her eyes widening. "Why?"

"Because if you stay with me you'll end up getting hurt...or even kill..." His voice trailed off his voice heavy with emotion, he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. He could see the hurt in her eyes, he was silently kicking himself for treating her like this...He was doing this for her sake, to protect her, because if I were her, I'd get as far away from me as possible.

"Joe, please don't do that. I like you too, very much so. It's been awhile since I've felt this way about anyone." Vanessa replied tearfully.

"You're not the only one who's gone through crap in their life. For me... I've had a hard time trusting the men in my life because of one man...my father." She stabbed a finger in his chest, "He left when I was three." Angry tears rolled down her face, "On my sixteenth birthday I tracked him down... because I wanted to know who my father was and why he abandoned me. To make a long story short...he's married to another woman...and you want to know the funny part? He has two teenage kids with her. I have two siblings that I never even knew about and haven't met! He has this whole new family, and a life that I'm not a part of! I don't even know if my siblings even know about me! He never calls me. He never acknowledges me. Not even one single birthday card! Nothing! I don't exist to him! And I hate him for that!" She continued, "You are so lucky that you have your father in your life, a man who loves you and gives a damn about you.

"My mother raised me on her own, she would work tirelessly at dead end jobs so she could keep a roof over our heads, put food on the table and clothes on my back, and so I could go to a good school. She is a strong and independent woman and has learned how to fix things around the house because we couldn't always afford to hire someone and we didn't have anyone else we could turn to." She paused to take a breath and wiped the tears off of her face.

Vanessa sniffed, as she continued, "My mom even went back to college to earn a degree in computer science and engineering and she is now working her dream job as computer analyst and works for a company in New York, who allowed her to move here and work from home. I want to show the world that I am not just a pretty face, I'm smart as well, and I want to be a strong and independent woman, just like my mother!"

"My mom showed me that it was okay for a girl to be smart and to use her brain to get what she wants in life. Thanks to my mother, who is my inspiration, I now have a love for computers and technology, and I plan on following in her footsteps. That is MY dream."

Joe's thoughts were racing. He admired Mrs. Bender and Vanessa's goals in life, but her comment on the end focused his thoughts onto the disc, maybe, if he hadn't blown it already she could enhance the footage on the disc! Maybe Vanessa would be the one to help him clear Frank's name!

"I want to give relationships with men a try again, but I don't want it to be just any guy, Joe. I want to try with you." Vanessa paused as she collected her thoughts. "I don't mean just an intimate relationship, it's more than that to me. I want a relationship, or you could even call it a partnership, where we can have fun and be open and honest and talk anything with each other whether it be good or bad. I know that we just started going out, and that this is our first official date, but I think that we could be all that. You told me over the phone about how worried you are about Frank and his arrest for being accused of murdering that man Hayden. And you let it slip that he's been dealing with depression, and I promised you then that what you tell me would be in confidence. You can trust me. So please talk to me. Please tell me what do you really want? Do you really want to break up with me? Or do you want to give this," Vanessa gestured between the two of them, "us, a chance?"

Joe was silent for a moment taking all she had said in. "I'm sorry that your dad is a jerk, and he hurt you like that. I guess we've all had shitty stuff happen to us, and it keeps coming no matter where life takes us."

He swallowed a lump in his throat, "Vanessa, I do trust you and you can trust me. I do want the same things as you do. But there are some things about me that I'm not ready to talk about with you, at least not yet. We're still getting to know each other. I think it's only fair that we should take things slow and not rush."

"Fair enough, I too have other things that I want to share with you eventually, but I'm not ready to share just yet. Until then we'll have to learn to be patient with each other and not push." Vanessa replied back.

"Fair enough."

"Good." She added lightly with a smile.

Joe sighed and shook his head. "You know what, this date isn't turning out so well, maybe we can start over?" Joe smiled, and stuck out his hand to her. "Hi, I'm Joe Hardy, I think you're hot and would you like to go out with me?"

Vanessa started laughing, "now that's the guy I was looking for who made me laugh earlier."

"Well, are you going to leave me hanging?" Joe laughed with his hand in midair.

Vanessa cleared her throat to stifled a laugh, while accepting the handshake Joe offered her. "Hi, Joe. I'm Vanessa Bender, and it's a pleasure to meet you. That was corny but you're cute so I'll let it slide, and yes, I'd love to go out with you. So where are you taking me?'"

"Why to the pier of course...to celebrate the birthday of our great nation, with a picnic and fun games and activities for the whole family and then later the awesome display of fireworks."

"That sounds like fun." Vanessa chuckled lightly.

Joe still couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen, but maybe it was just his anxiety trying to take over. He was going to try to follow Frank's advice and focus on the good and just try to have fun. He said with a big sigh, "Yes, let's get going, I'm starving by the way. I hope Mom and Aunt Gertrude have the food ready."

"By the way you are a pretty good kisser." She said leaning into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah," He said flashing her a witty, mischievous grin. "Any change of it happening again, or will it earn me another slap?"

"That depends, if you show me a really good time on this date," She said with a mischievous smile and a seductive note to her voice. "I'll give you a kiss that will curl your toes."

"Well, in that case let's go!" Joe cheered with his arms raised up.

Just then Vanessa's phone chimed to indicated that she had received a message. She took it out of the back pocket of her romper and looked at it. "Callie."

"Callie?" Joe questioned.

"Yeah," Vanessa nodded, "Well I was going to call your brother, because I thought you were going nuts. But, I don't have his number, so I sent Callie a text instead. She wants to know what's going on with you, and where we are?"

"Crap! Frank's probably having kittens!" Joe replied with a grimace. "Chances are that he's standing right next to her. Why don't you just text them back and tell them that we're on our way."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

"You're just going to leave your brother in suspense?"

"Yup."

"Well okay, it's your funeral." She sighed, and began to text, 'we're on our way'.

With that they made their way out of the front door and as they stepped out into the evening Joe looked at his watch and discovered that it was 7pm. They had better head down to the pier before his dad and Frank come searching for him. As he had promised Mr. Prito, Joe made sure that the lights were off and the door was locked before they headed back to the Jeep.

"Hey what's this?" Vanessa pointed at a flyer on her windshield, as they got closer, they saw in bold black letters, 'Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!'

Joe's face paled at the message. He wrapped an arm around Vanessa pulling her close to him. He began looking around at their surroundings, "We better get out of here." He opened the driver's side door for her, and once Vanessa was safely inside, he closed the door.

"I better to get this to Dad." He peeled the corner of the flyer careful not to disturb fingerprints that may be on it and put it in a Ziploc that Vanessa had sitting in the backseat. As Vanessa started the car, Joe made his way around the Jeep as quickly as he could with his crutches. He looked around once more, before he opened his door and placing his crutches in the backseat, he climbed inside, and then they were off and heading down the road.

Unbeknownst to them a dark figure stepped out from the shadows at the corner of the building, and a devilish grin spread across his face as he watched the rear tail lights of the Jeep disappear down the road.


	15. Chapter 15

_Hello I'm back again with another new chapter. this one took a little longer to write. I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to those who left me wonderful reviews on the last chapter, JKG, Kalubatta6, Sofia, t4swp, Drumboy100, Bkworm4life4, MagaretA66, emmerrss92, and as well as those how are following, favorites, or just reading you're awesome. Bkworm4life4 thank you for helping me with my story you are awesome :)_

A brother's revenge chapter 15

By 6:30pm Frank and Callie had arrived at the pier and it was packed with people who had come to celebrate the 4th of July event. American flags lined the sidewalk and a huge banner with stars and stripes hung over the street, welcoming everyone to the celebration. White lights were twinkling in the trees and patriotic music was playing over the loud speakers. There were families and kids all over the park having fun participating in various games of lawn dice, giant Jenga, darts, corn hole and relay races.

Callie couldn't wait to participate in some of these games, once all of their friends got there, it would be nice to have the gang back together again. Well almost everyone, as sad thoughts of the loss of Phil and his cousin Seth quickly entered her mind, but she hoped that they could get their minds off their troubles for a little while. It was what they all needed in a time like this.

"Look at the turn out. I think that there's more people here than there was last year." Callie said excitedly.

She walked hand and hand with Frank along the boardwalk of the pier. Over in the distance she noticed the sunset had tinged the lake with a beautiful pink color as people in their boats moved about in the water.

"The sunset is so beautiful." She added taking in the sight as she placed her head on Frank's shoulder.

"Yeah beautiful." Frank said dryly interrupting her thoughts.

Unfortunately, having fun was the farthest thing from her fiancé's mind. She knew that today was a difficult day for him and that he wasn't in the best of moods for the festivities. The only reason he was here and making an effort was to support his brother. She was still getting used to his frequent mood swings and she wished that his depression would go away, however she understood that it wasn't that simple. She reminded herself that she had to be patient with him and that she had to do everything that she could to support him and just be there for him.

Callie knew that Frank had been having a down day to start with, but what had put him further into this mood was a text message that she had received from Vanessa for her to tell Frank that, 'somethings going on with Joe.' Callie quickly texted her back and had yet to get a response from Vanessa which was definitely not helping Frank's disposition.

"Why hasn't Vanessa texted you back?" Frank said worriedly. They had stepped off to the side so that they weren't blocking the walkway so people could get by them.

Frank ran a hand through his hair as horrible thoughts ran through his head. "They left the house no more than ten minutes before we did. Vanessa was driving. They should've been here by now. Something doesn't feel right." he put his hand to his chest in a gesture that was becoming very familiar to him. "The four of us should've ridden here together. What the hell was I thinking? We should go look for them. But where to start...where could they have gone?"

"I'm going to try to call Joe." He took out his phone from the pocket of his shorts and called Joe's number. It went straight to his voice mail which Frank wished he'd change because only Joe thought that it was witty and funny.

'I'm sorry, but I'm momentarily tied up. Please leave your name and your digits after the beep, and I'll get right back to you...beeeeeeeep! No really, "chuckling," I'll get back to you. Bye!''

"Little brother call me. Where are you? What the hell's going on?! " he shouted, clutching his phone as he ignored the stares and whispers from people who were near them.

"Damn it! I should've listened to him. He kept telling us over and over that he had a feeling something bad was about to happen. What if his feeling actually happened, what if the threat came true?" Frank began heavily breathing as he started to spiral. "What if it is Ryan behind the threat." He couldn't let go of the words. Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!

"Frank, Baby, calm down." Callie said framing his face with her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"I'm sorry, Cal," He cleared his throat. "The last two times… I felt like this…I thought I lost him in the hospital fire. Before that he went missing…and found shot in the leg. For three days I thought he was dead!"

Frank took a couple deep breaths. He wrapped his arms around Callie and pulled her close to him trying very hard to stay calm and collected. Oh God his emotions were hitting him all at once.

Frank suddenly paused. He had an eerie feeling that he was being watched. He started to look around, but then out of the corner of his eye he thought he caught a glimpse of someone lurking behind the tall bushes just a few feet away from them. He looked around again at the people walking past them and at his surroundings and then back at the bushes. There was no one there. Was it a figment of his imagination? Was someone watching him? Was he just being paranoid? Was he going crazy? No, he thought to himself, his emotions were all over the place. It had to be someone that was just walking by and it was just because he was worrying about Joe.

"Frank, I know you're upset and you have a reason to be." Callie said pulling away slightly and holding him at arm's length. She looked up into his worried brown eyes, "If," she said, emphasizing the word, "IF, Joe really is in some kind of trouble, he's going to need you to help him. But in order for you to do that you have to stay calm. Isn't that what you're always telling him to do when faced with a difficult situation, to stay calm and think things through?"

Frank took a deep breath to calm himself and replied, 'You're right. I need to stay calm, stay focused. Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without you, Callie. You're my voice of reason." He smiled and softly kissed the top of her forehead.

"Let's head over to the picnic area and find your parents." She said, leaning into the kiss and smiling.

"My parents." Frank said with an exasperated sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "And what am I supposed to tell them? If we show up and Joe and Vanessa aren't there, Dad's going to know that something's up."

"Frank, stop worrying." Callie replied giving his hand a light squeeze. She noticed that he was unconsciously rubbing his chest and that scared her. He had so much on his plate, between his arrest, preparing for college and on top both of those things, worrying about Joe, she prayed that this wasn't adding more stress to his heart, causing his angina to flare up and cause issues so he would end up back in the hospital yet again...God she couldn't go through that again.

They slowly started to walk over to where they were supposed to meet the rest of the family. Joe and Vanessa had better be alright, she thought to herself. She really did like Joe, she really did. He was a good humorous, adventurous person with a big heart, but sometimes he just drove her crazy, especially when his actions affected Frank, intentionally or not.

She knew that Joe was dealing with some anxiety issues of his own, and she hated to see him go through that, especially with what she was seeing Frank go through. She thought back to the conversation that they had in the hospital while they were waiting for news about Frank's test results. They had both agreed to work on their issues, both personal and with each other, and try to be friends so Frank wouldn't get stressed out. She respected the special bond that Frank and Joe shared together; however, it was times like this when it made her angry and frustrated with Joe. She wished for once in his life he would ease up on his antics for his brother's sake.

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

"I sure hope that we have plenty of food." Gertrude said as she spread a red, white and blue festive tablecloth over a picnic table. Once that was done, she placed the paper plates, party cups, and eating utensils in the center.

"Well we should, you ladies prepared enough food to feed an army." Fenton replied.

He was in the middle of preparing the portable grill that his sister and wife had insisted on bringing. When it came to cooking at home, he pretty much left that up to his wife and sister, however when it came to cooking on the grill that was pretty much his area of expertise.

"The boys and their friends pretty much eat enough for an army." Laura said setting the rest of the food out of chips and dips, pasta and potato salads, a platter of cookies and two of Gertrude's homemade apple pies.

"I'd say Chet and Joe pretty much make up for all of us." Frank said as he and Callie arrived.

"Well it's about time you guys started showing up." Laura said with a smile as she looked up to see her eldest son and his fiancé.

"Hi, Mom." Frank greeting his mother with a hug.

"Do you know if any of your friends are here yet?' Laura asked and as she released him she caught a glimpse of worry in his eyes. Was something wrong? She could feel the tension radiating from Frank.

"I haven't seen anyone yet, but they should be here soon." Frank simply answered.

He had thought that the idea of a group date with their friends would be the best course of action in convincing his parents to let Joe go on his date with Vanessa. For one, it would be safe because he and Joe would not be alone, and there would be people around keeping watch out, just in case Ryan...or whoever decided to show up. However, this plan of his would be all for nothing if Joe didn't show up soon. He had better show up. Come on Joe, where are you? Frank thought anxiously.

Frank had called each of their friends to invite them on the picnic, with Joe, Vanessa, Callie and himself. They had all said yes. Everyone was very excited and looking forward to having fun. Each one of them had expressed concern for both he and Joe, wanting to know what was going on with Hayden's murder case and wanting to help them in any way that they could. Frank had filled all of them in on the bare bones of what had been happening. He felt a twinge in his heart thinking of their friends Biff and Chet, Tony. Today was the first time that they were getting together since Phil's funeral. They all really needed this, something good and fun to look forward to. He just hoped his mood didn't spoil everyone's fun, but he was going to try hard to make the effort to have fun.

"Wow, everything looks and smells wonderful," Callie said commenting on the food, her words breaking into Frank's thoughts. "Is there anything that we can help you with?"

"Thank you, Callie, but everything's ready." Laura said kindly. "Once everyone gets here, we can grill up the burgers and hot dogs and then we can eat. "

"Frank!"

Frank turned to see Chet Morton waving as he made his way towards the Hardy's with Tony, Phil, Biff and their dates following close on his heels. Frank's heart sank a little expecting to see Phil to be with them. He fought back the urge to cry. God, he missed his friend. He'd give anything to talk to Phil right now.

Frank quickly pushed his sad thoughts away and answered hoping to sound upbeat. "Hey, guys! Glad you can make it."

"Are you kidding? I look forward to the July 4th picnic every year." Chet said cheerfully.

"More like the food, right?" Tony teased.

"Ha, ha, you're so funny Tony." Chet replied sticking his tongue out at him. He didn't mind when his friends would kid him about his hardy appetite, he always took it in good humor. What could he say? He just loved good food.

"It's not just that... there's also the fireworks." He said grinning sheepishly. "You know I don't always think about food..." He stopped in midsentence when he saw the two apple pies on the table. "Are those what I think they are Aunt Gertrude?"

"Yes, Chet," Gertrude chuckled answering his question. "Those are two freshly homemade apple pies that I've made especially for this occasion."

"Yes!" Chet cheered with his arms raised up. Everyone burst out laughing, especially Gertrude. It was a well-known fact in their circle that Chet was a big fan of Gertrude's cooking, especially when it came to her homemade pies.

Callie glanced at Frank, smiling when she heard him laugh. That was a good sign and music to her ears and she hoped that she would hear more of that as the day went on.

"The fireworks are my favorite part. I love all the sparkles that light up the sky." Brenda Webber said. She was a curly red headed girl with freckles and Chet's date for the evening.

"Mine too." her sister, Lizzy Webber agreed, she also had red hair which she had tied back into a ponytail. She was dating Biff. "Speaking of sparkles," She turned to Callie smiling. "Callie, could we see the ring?"

"Oh of course." Callie smiled and held out her left hand to the girls showing off her diamond ring.

"It's gorgeous!" Lizzy squealed. She held the tips of Callie's fingers to get a better look. "Congratulations both of you."

"Thank you," Frank and Callie replied.

"Beautiful... just beautiful." Brenda cheerfully added, "Have you made any plans yet?"

"No, not yet, we're not ready for that yet." Callie shook her head.

"My sister and her husband got married last year in the Bahamas. It was the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to." Tony's date, Marcy Greenly said. She was wearing a wearing a yellow floral sundress and sandals and had long raven hair.

"It's certainly an idea," Callie smiled. She added linking her arm around Frank's. "like I said we're not even ready for that. We both decided that we wanted to wait at least until we have two years of college under our belts, and then we'll see. For the time being we're just enjoying being engaged."

"Well I think that's a perfect plan." Laura said. "Something else exciting to look forward to."

College, Weddings…I can't think of anything else other than…Joe…Hayden's murder…depression. Frank thought to himself. Then he added out loud, "Yeah something to look forward to," he shrugged, "that is if I'm not in prison by then."

"That is not going to happen. You didn't kill that horrible man." His mother said firmly. "I still wish you were part of Hayden's murder case." Laura said as she looked at her husband.

"I do too." Fenton nodded. "However, like I've said before the Chief and his men are perfectly capable of handling the case."

"If you ask me, they're working it at a snail's pace. We should know something by now." Gertrude commented, as she handed her brother a plate of hot dogs and hamburger patties.

"Gert, they're going about it as efficiently as they can." Fenton said, placing the food on the grill. "Besides, the Chief can't share the details of the case with me. It would be violating the judge's court order and Frank would be sitting in jail."

"Let's talk about something else." Laura suggested, quickly changing the subject. She didn't want to think of the idea of her son in jail.

"Besides the food, I know what I'm looking for," Biff piped up, "getting in on the action of some of these games. Maybe even tossing the ole pigskin around with Joe. That is if it's okay considering his leg and all." He held up a football he'd brought with him.

"We'll have to see, Biff." Laura said. Although it would be good to see Joe back playing sports again. She just didn't want him to overdo it and reinjure the leg.

Biff nodded. He clutched the ball with both hands and began looking around for his best friend. "Where is that knucklehead anyway?"

"I'd like to know that myself." Fenton said, with an edge to his voice. He handed a plate of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers to Gertrude and looked at Frank.

Frank cringed meeting his father's stern eyes, and his stomach churned at thought of what he should tell him. And he really didn't know where Joe was. He hoped that Joe was okay. He put his hand to his chest and rubbed it again. Something still didn't feel right.

He swallowed a lump in his throat. Finally, he answered the only thing he could say. He answered Biff, "I don't know." Then he cast his eyes away from Fenton.

"Why don't we all sit down and eat? I'm sure by that time they will be here." Laura said changing the subject slightly. Hopefully, she said to herself. She was starting to get concerned about the whereabouts of her youngest son.

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

When the food was ready, they all sat around either at the picnic tables or on nearby blankets so they could all enjoy themselves while they spent time together on their group date. Most everyone was laughing and joking around with each other and having fun and enjoying the good food.

However not everyone was enjoying themselves. Frank glanced at the time on his phone...it was 7pm and still no sign of Joe. He nervously glanced over at the other picnic table and saw the anger smoldering in his father's eyes. It told him that his father was none too pleased with Joe.

'Where is that kid? I wish Joe would do as he's told for once." Fenton murmured as he pushed his plate aside. He was too angry to eat. "Why does he have to make things so difficult?"

"Fenton please, don't get yourself all worked up." Laura spoke and placed a hand on his arm to calm him down.

'Laura, I'm doing my best to stay calm." He huffed, "Joe is not helping this."

"Do you think something's happened to them?' Gertrude asked, voicing her concern about her youngest nephew.

"I did see worry in Frank's eyes when he got here." Laura added, "Something's wrong Fenton." her voice trails off, she swallowed a lump in her throat, "I just know it."

"That's it." Fenton said as he took out his phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"The Chief." He answered and got up from the table and began dialing.

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

"So, where the hell is Joe?" Biff said swallowing the last of his burger.

"I wish I knew Biff; I wish I knew." Frank replied intermittently rubbing his chest.

Callie asked worriedly. "Frank, does your chest hurt?"

"No." Frank shook his head. "It's Joe. Something's wrong I can feel it."

His friends exchanged looks with each other. They all knew what that meant.

Brenda looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean you can feel that something is wrong with your brother?"

"Biff told me that you guys can communicate with each other through your feelings. Is that really true?" Lizzy asked.

"Do you have telepathy?" Marcy asked after taking a bite of her pasta salad. "I'm a science fanatic, and that kind of stuff fascinates me. I'm not exactly sure what field of science I want to explore, but it's what I'm majoring in at NYU. Anyway, I've read where there's a theory that telepathy is common when it comes to twins. Are you guys twins?"

"It could be that. I can't really explain this feeling I have. All I know is I have a feeling that something's wrong with Joe." Frank nodded slowly. "And no, Joe and I are not twins; we're actually about a year apart."

"I still don't understand." Brenda replied confused.

Chet laid a hand on her hand. "None of us do, but it's not for us to try to understand. All we need to know is what Frank is telling us."

After taking a sip of his soda, Tony asked, "Frank, will you tell us what is going on with you and Joe? You don't have to if you don't want to, but I know you guys have a lot going on. You know that if you do need or want to talk, we're here."

"Yeah. I still can't believe you're being accused of murdering that bastard Hayden." Biff piped up.

"We know you're innocent." Chet said reassuringly. "Just know we have your back."

"Thanks guys, your support means a lot." It made Frank feel better knowing that he could always count on his loyal friends to be there when it counted. "And I know I promised to fill you in on what's happening so here goes."

Frank took a deep breath, let it out and then told them about Callie's car being vandalized, the threatening messages against them, and lastly the possibility of Ryan Hayden being in Bayport.

"There is a lead on the vandalism case. The police are trying to locate a Bruce Linksy. His fingerprints were found on the black spray can that was used to write the message. So far, they haven't been able to find him, so Chief Collig has asked Dad to help locate him." Frank continued, "Linksy and his wife are an older couple in their late sixties. Apparently, their landlord was going to evict them, but then they moved out in the middle of the night two days ago without a word to anyone. The police did a background check on him. It turns out that he was arrested two years ago for not showing up in court over unpaid tickets."

"That sounds like the couple who came into the restaurant." Tony said.

Frank raised an eyebrow. "When was this?"

"Like two, maybe three days ago? They ordered close to a hundred bucks worth of food, but then skipped out on the check. My dad was pissed to say the least."

Biff whistled. "Shit, I'd be too."

"Do you think this Linksy person could have a connection to the mystery dark haired kid?" Lizzy asked.

"That's what we're hoping for." Frank responded.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why would this Linksy guy, vandalize Callie's car and leave that message on the windshield? Do you think he may have some sort of connection to Hayden?" Biff asked.

"So, do you think that the mystery dark haired kid from the lobby that you saw, could be the same guy on the security footage from the shooting range?" Chet asked.

"It is possible, guys. The only thing is I can't be a part of it, because I'd be violating the court order." Frank explained.

"Well that sucks, telling a Hardy not to solve a mystery is like telling a painter not to paint. When all he wants to do is paint. Damn it let him paint!" Biff grumbled.

That brought a grin across Frank's face. "Thanks Biff, I feel this same way. But don't worry I'll get a chance to 'paint' when the time is right."

"You're welcome. Now we know what' going on with you, so what's going on with Joe? Your dad has a look on his face like he's about ready to hurt someone." Biff said, casting a worried look over at Fenton.

"This whole thing with my arrest and being accused of murdering Hayden is not sitting well with Joe. He wants to do something. Then there is also the possibility that if Ryan is here... that means that there's a chance that Henry could be too..." Frank paused, "and Joe is hell bent on finding him because he killed Phil and Seth… and he almost killed me. Oh, don't get me wrong I want to find him too... I vow to get justice for them both, and I will. I just want a piece of Henry so bad."

"Frank we all want a piece of that little shit for taking Phil from us. And for what he did to you and Joe as well." Biff said heatedly. Everyone nodded in agreement as they all felt the same way.

Frank nodded. "Joe wants to be part of the investigation but Dad won't let him. Technically, according to the court order, he would be the only one of us who could look into it without violating it. It's causing a lot friction between the two of them." Frank then told them what had happened with the window incident which they were all surprised to hear about.

"I don't know what's going through his mind but Joe's behavior has become unpredictable. It's worse than it was right after Iola died. In fact, his anxiety level has been off the chart crazy. Hell, for all I know he might have decided to go somewhere else tonight on his date. I came up with the idea of the group date to convince my parents to let Joe go on his date with Vanessa since he was grounded."

"For one, it would be safer for all of us because we wouldn't be alone, there would be eyes everywhere, in case Ryan...or whoever decides to show up." Frank ran a hand through his hair. "And two, we all needed this. Phil would want us to...to have fun together, to laugh and hang out like always."

"And we will, we will honor Phil's life. And I think in some way he's here with us. Looking out for us." Callie said, "And Frank, what you said about Joe going somewhere else. I don't think so. Vanessa told me her mom is going to be here as well. There's no way she's going to..." Callie's phone chimed before she could finish her sentence. She took it out of her purse and looked at it. "It's Vanessa."

Everyone got quiet as Frank held his breath. He braced himself for whatever bad news he was about to hear. Whatever it was he knew that he could handle it. However, the bad feeling he felt just intensified. Oh God. It wasn't going away.

"She says, 'we're on our way'," Callie said reading the message back on her phone.

"What? That's it?" He just looked at her blinking. He raised a brow, wrinkling his nose.

"That's it." She said showing him the message.

"What the hell kind of a message is that!?" He cursed after reading the text again, "Vanessa sends you a text to tell me something's going on with Joe," He reiterated in anger, his voice raising. "And then she just responds back, with a, 'we're on our way'! She didn't even mention where they are?"

"No, sorry Babe." Callie said placing her phone back in her purse. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason as to why they're late. Maybe Vanessa stopped to get gas or something." She throughout a suggestion although she wasn't convinced of it herself.

"That 'something' doesn't explain as to what's going on with my brother!" Frank exclaimed.

"I guess you'll find out once he gets here." Callie replied calmly.

Their friends exchanged looks with each other not sure of what to say...they just hoped that Joe was alright.

"Well Joe had better have a good explanation or I'm going to kill him myself!"

Hearing her son shouting Laura hurried over to him. "Frank what's going on?!" She asked worriedly.

Frank quickly explained the text message they got from Vanessa about an hour ago that something's going with Joe.

Callie showed Laura the text from Vanessa. "We're on our way."

A few minutes later Fenton came back, "I talked to Chief Collig he has officers patrolling the pier. They're on the lookout for Joe and Vanessa."

He suddenly noticed the concern on everyone's faces. "What's..." He was about to say something.

"Tony!" a voice called.

Everyone turned to see Angelo Prito come by their picnic area.

"Hey, Uncle Angelo!" Tony shouted getting up to greet him with a hug.

"Good to see you Tony." The man greeted his nephew back.

"How are you?"

"Good, good." Angelo said beaming. "Are your parents here?"

"No. Dad closed the restaurant early and took Mom to New York to get away for the weekend."

"That's good. Good for them." The man nodded. "Okay listen I just got off work and saw you so I wanted to come by to say hello."

"Where are you and your crew working.?" Tony asked.

"We're actually, doing some construction work for Mr. Hardy." Angelo said he turned to Fenton. "By the way I ran into your youngest Joe."

"Joe!" they all cried at once.

Angelo looked at everyone strangely. "Did I miss something?"

Fenton took a deep breath to calm down. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm sorry about that. We haven't heard from him and are getting concerned. You said you ran into Joe. When and where did you see him?" He folded his arms across his chest.

"About an hour ago. He came by the office with his girlfriend. He seemed very excited about it. Joe even offered to lock up so we didn't have to wait for them and we could come to the July 4th celebration. I didn't think you'd mind."

"Joe swore to me that they were just there to look around the place." Angelo shrugged his shoulders. "but if you ask me, I think, he just wanted to make out with his girlfriend."

"Oh, really?" Fenton replied as he nodded.

"Anyway, I just wanted to come by and say hi." Angelo said. "I had better go and find the rest of my family. Tony I'll see you later. Happy 4th July to you all." With that he waved goodbye and left.

"Angelo, thank you." Laura said kindly.

"Oh, good heavens!" Gertrude exclaimed. "What are we going to do with that boy?"

Frank was just floored by this news. Oh, when he saw him, he was going to strangle Joe. Making him worry like this... thinking the worst possible things. And the whole time he had been at the agency making out with Vanessa...oh he was going to kill Joe.

A mischievous grin spread across Biff's mouth, "That sly dog." Chet elbowed him in the side. "Not helping." He whispered to him.

"Well at least we know where he is." Laura said a little relieved. The look on her husband's face told her a different story though. He was not happy, not happy at all and she knew that she would have to intercede.

"Please, Fenton, don't jump all over him the minute he gets here. You're going to have to learn to pick your battles with him." She touched his arm. "Joe's really excited about the new agency you know that...it would make sense that he'd want to show it off to Vanessa."

"I'm not making any promises, Laura. Joe knows the plan. We agreed to let him go out with Vanessa on this group date. He knew that he was not to go anywhere else other than here because of the threat. Joe had better get his butt here in the next five minutes or..."

"Hey, Hey Everyone!" Fenton words were cut off by a familiar voice called out, getting everyone's attention. Sure, enough it was Joe rushing up to them with his crutches, with Vanessa at his side.

"Sorry we're late I lost track of time. Hope you left us plenty of food for us because we're starving." Joe said once he and Vanessa reached the group. Frank noticed his little brother had a huge smile across his face from ear to ear as if nothing was wrong, but Frank could tell that it was a mask and that Joe was worried about something, he could see it in Joe's eyes. Vanessa on the other hand had a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes, which told him a completely different story.


	16. Chapter 16

Hello everyone, I know its been awhile since my last update, my apologies. I have a busy work schedule so I can't always update as quickly as I'd like to and but try to I found time to work on it in between. Anyway, I'd like to send a big THANK YOU to everyone who left me wonderful reviews, following, favorites, or just reading. you are all awesome. Your reviews is what encourages me to keep writing, so please keep them coming. and to my beta reader you are a big help to me thank you. Here's the new chapter hope you like it. I'll do my best to update. ErinJordan

A brother's revenge chapter 16

"Sorry we're late I lost track of time. Hope you left us plenty of food for us because we're starving." Joe said once he and Vanessa reached the group.

Frank noticed that his brother had a huge smile across his face, spreading from ear to ear as if nothing was wrong, but Frank could tell that it was a mask and that Joe was worried about something, he could see it in the shadows in Joe's eyes. Vanessa on the other hand, wasn't hiding her worry as well as she had a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes, which told him that there was a lot more to the story than Joe was letting on...

Speaking first, Laura responded, "Well yes, Joe, Vanessa, there is plenty of food left. Please help yourselves." She said smiling at the young couple. She was a relieved that they were here safe and sound and she was praying that everything would go smoothly. She kept her hand on her husband's arm to keep him calm and to ground him for she knew he was angry.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hardy." Vanessa said politely.

Chet, Brenda, Biff and Lizzy all got up from their blanket to greet Vanessa with a friendly welcome. Tony and Marcy got up from the table to come over to greet her as well.

"Hey guys you all know, Vanessa Bender, right?" Joe said making the introductions to his friends and their dates, as he smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Yes, hi Vanessa, you're in few of my classes." Marcy said greeting the girl.

"Yes, that's right." Vanessa replied through a forced smile and thanked them for making her feel welcome.

All of the girls complemented Vanessa on her outfit and said that she looked beautiful in it. Before long everyone was relaxing and engaging in full conversations and laughter with the new couple, despite the awkward feeling that Joe was receiving from his family.

Vanessa however really didn't know what to make of all this, everything was just a bit awkward and she could feel the tension radiating from everyone, especially the Hardy's. That threatening message on her windshield still had her spooked.

"It's about time you got here, Amico." Tony said greeting Joe. "We were beginning to wonder whether or not you were going to show up."

"Heck yeah." Biff said with a slap on Joe's back. "It wouldn't be much of a fun celebration without you," he leaned into his best friend, nudging him with his shoulder, "Besides I need my partner in crime when we start playing some of those games. Oh, and I did bring a football just in case you feel like playing. I know it's kind of hard for you with your leg and all."

"No way would I miss the food, games and, fireworks." Joe said, keeping his smile plastered on his face. He was glad for Tony and Biff's little interruption. because it gave him an excuse to stall and avoid making eye contact with Fenton because he knew he was in big trouble with him for them being late. He said with a sigh, "As for football, Biff, I'm not making any promises, but we'll see."

"Right now, I want to chow down on this good food." Joe's mouth watered as he eyed the display of food in the middle of the picnic table. He reached for a plate. "Wow, this all looks good. I can't wait to dig in."

"Joe, mind your manners, ladies first." Gertrude reprimanded. She nodded towards his date.

"Oh, right, thanks Aunty," Joe smiled, "Here you go my beautiful angel," handing Vanessa the plate, and gestured for her to go in front of him. Vanessa took the plate although with everything that had happened she wasn't very hungry.

"Just a minute Joe, I think you owe everyone here an explanation." Fenton said in a calm but firm voice. He folded his arms to his chest; and Joe could tell that he was working hard to keep his temper at bay.

"I know." Joe said nervously, ducking his head down and shifting anxiously from one leg to the other while he held onto his crutches. Here it comes, he thought, so much for stalling.

He had no idea why his father made him feel this way. He glanced over at the picnic table where his brother who was directing his angry brown eyes at him. His father had every reason to be angry with him as did Frank, Joe broken their agreement. He knew that Frank had gone to bat for him and that his father had reluctantly agreed. How the hell was he ever going to earn his father's trust back? Was he about to lose Frank's trust as well?

"Fenton, I do think this should wait." Laura said trying to reason with him. "At least let Joe have something to eat first." She was trying to delay another confrontation between the two.

"I agree it can wait." Gertrude added. "We're supposed to be here with friends and family having fun with picnics, games and fireworks."

"No Laura, Gertrude, I'm sorry but this cannot wait." Fenton countered back, anger filling his voice. Turning his attention back to Joe he said. "Especially considering the fact that you had us all worrying and wondering if you were in trouble. Chief Collig even has his officers out looking for you two. Then you show up here with a smile on your face as of nothing is wrong."

"Dad, okay. Again, I'm sorry. I just wanted to show Vanessa around the new office and I lost track of time." Joe said softly as he sighed; mentally bracing himself, it was better to get this over with.

"Yes, that's what Angelo Prito told me. That was an interesting conversation I might add." Fenton said, "he seemed to be under the impression that the two of you were there with the intention to make out."

"Make out?" Vanessa squeaked as her cheeks flushed pink. She felt like the whole group was staring at her which was making her extremely uncomfortable and feeling like she just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. "Joe, tell him the real reason."

"Dad, that's not why we're late." Joe said, his anxiety was kicking in again. He quickly shifted his attention to his brother, as he tried to calm himself so he wouldn't have another panic attack. "Frank, is that what you think too?"

Finally finding his voice, Frank managed to say as calmly as he could, but everyone could hear the irritation in his voice. "I'm not sure what to think right now, Joe." He got up from the table to confront his brother, but then his anger took over as he spoke, "I do have a question for you though."

"What's that?'

"Where's your phone?"

Their friends held their breath as they watched the exchange between the brothers. None of them knew what would happen as Frank and Joe rarely argued, much less argued in front of them.

"My phone?" Joe asked, puzzled and biting his bottom lip.

"Yes, your phone." Frank sighed impatiently. "Do you have it with you?"

"Um, yes."

"Really? Where is it?" Frank demanded; his arms crossed against his chest.

Joe huffed out, "In the back pocket of my shorts."

"Can I see it?" Frank asked with a hard edge in his voice. He held out his hand.

Joe knew by the serious tone and the expression on Frank's face there was no point in arguing with him, "Fine," He grumbled, pulling out his phone from his shorts and handing it over to his brother.

"I tried calling you and all I got was your stupid voice mail." Frank said looking at his brother's phone in his hand and turned it on and the whole thing came to life. "Oh, look it does work. You just had it turned off." His brown eyes looked back at Joe. "Why is your phone turned off?"

Frank clicked a button, and played the voice mail message he had left his brother. "Little brother call me. Where are you? What the hell's going on?!"

Joe gulped nervously at hearing the message for the first time. This was not going to go well. "I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders as if no big deal. "I guess I forgot to turn it on before we left the house." No way in hell was Frank going to buy that!

"You guess? Joe, you know you're not supposed to leave the house without your phone turned on and your lockpick, which is another thing I hope you have on you," Frank leaned forward and reminded him, "And you know the reasons why."

"Yes, Frank I do have it with me." A spark of anger lit up in Joe's blue eyes and his temper started to flare up. "And I'm well aware of the reasons why. I'm a walking target. I have to carry a lockpick in my shoe just in case a bad guy gets the crazy notion to grab me and lock me in a box...or some damn hole in the wall."

Finally losing his temper Joe sneered at his brother. "Besides big brother of mine, I'm surprised you didn't pat me down to make sure I had them with me before I left...you must be losing your touch."

Vanessa's eyes widened with concern. This was the Joe that had made her feel uncomfortable at the agency building. Callie too, was growing concerned at the way that Joe was speaking to his brother. Something told her that something big was off about Joe. Biff, Tony and Chet were picking up on it as well, while their dates weren't exactly sure what to make of what was happening.

Suddenly a wave of fatigue came over Frank but he forced it back and focused on Joe, he had to, something was going on. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Joe lied, ducking his head so Frank couldn't see his face.

"Don't tell me it's nothing. This is me you're talking to. I know when you're not fine."

"Frank, I..."

"Joe, from the moment Callie and I got here to the pier, I had that feeling in my heart that something's wrong with you." Frank pushed on placing his hand on his chest, "Then Callie gets a message from Vanessa to tell me that somethings going on with you. And then we don't hear from either of you for almost an hour! I've been here going crazy and worrying my ass off! We've been wondering where you are and thinking that maybe Ryan or whomever it is followed through on the threat! The last time I felt like this I thought you were dead!" Frank shouted in anger making their friends jump.

Frank was livid at this point. He pointed his finger at his brother and ranted on, "And then a few minutes ago Callie receives a message from Vanessa again telling us, 'we're on our way'. And the whole time as we heard from Tony's uncle that you two have been at the agency making out! Tell me Joe what the hell am I supposed to think!" Frank rubbed his aching chest, as he paused to catch his breath.

"Frank." Laura gasped worriedly. "Are you alright? Is your chest hurting again?"

"I'll be fine Mom." Frank said trying to catch his breath.

"No, you're not fine." Callie replied coming to her fiancé's defense. She got up from the table where she had been sitting and linked her arm around Frank's arm.

"Can't you see what you're doing to your brother?" She asked angrily as she narrowed her eyes at Joe and continued, 'You're stressing him out...if he ends up back in the hospital as a result of this it will be because of you!"

There was a moment of silence among the group, Joe looked back and forth at his friends and family. All of them looking at him not sure of what to say. Maybe they're all thinking it too, that I'm no good, he thought, they're just too good of friends to say it.

"Callie, don't..." Frank started to say between breaths.

"No, Frank, she's right." Joe cut in, "It would be my fault." He batted at the tears that threatened to come at the corners of his eyes, he cleared his throat, "The last thing I want to do is cause any of you any more pain." He wiped the tears that had managed to escape off of his face with the sleeve of his shirt, " Frank...I'm sorry." God why am I always hurting the people I care about so much, he thought. Now he was feeling like a piece of crap for breaking down in front of his friends, his family, oh god Vanessa, what does she think of me now. I can't even look at her right now.

"Alright everyone let's take a moment to calm down. There is no need for this." Gertrude said.

Fenton had taken a step back while Frank and Joe had their conversation to allow his temper to cool down a bit. At Gertrude's comment he took a deep breath and continued with his earlier questions. "Okay let's get back to the topic at hand. Joe, do you or did you not go to the office?"

Joe blinking back tears and answered, "Yes sir...but the making out part is not true..."

"Your mother and I made an agreement with you to let you go out with Vanessa on this group date and in exchange you agreed to go to family counseling."

"Yes, Dad I know," Joe still wasn't sure about the whole counseling thing, but he had agreed. "but the real reason we were at the office was because, I had a pan..."

"I don't want to hear any more of your excuses! You were not to go anywhere else other than the pier for the picnic, because of the threat!" Fenton snapped, interrupting what Joe was saying. He couldn't hold back his temper any longer.

Frank and Laura huffed and closed their eyes. Gertrude shook her head and muttered, "here we go again."

"It's not!" Joe fired back, tears gone he was red faced and his hands were gripping his crutches tightly. "Will you listen to ME for once! You never listen!"

"Enough!" Laura shouted stepping in between them.

"We had a deal Joe and you blew it!" Fenton stabbed a finger into his son's chest. "When are you going to start using that brain of yours?" He tried to stop the words from flying out of his mouth, but his anger got the better of him, "Sometimes I wish you were more like Frank."

"Fenton." Laura cried, covering her mouth with her hand a shocked look on her face.

"Dad." Frank gasped.

"Oh, my word, Fenton. " Gertrude whispered softly, shaking her head.

"Oh shit." Biff cursed in under his breath, just as the rest of Frank and Joe's friends all sat in shocked disbelief. Never in their lives had they seen or known Fenton Hardy to ever act that way with either of his sons. They were just as concerned by the way Joe was acting as well, but couldn't help but think that this might have been part of the reason why. What else was happening with Joe that they didn't know about?

Joe's mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief. Ouch; he wasn't going to lie his father's words felt like somebody had stabbed him in the heart and just confirmed what he had been thinking in the back of his mind. Looking at his father Joe didn't bother to hide his hurt, "Well I guess you finally admitted the truth."

"Joe, I'm sorry that came out wrong...I didn't mean..." Fenton said regretfully. He felt terrible for hurting his son's feelings. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he treat his son this way?

"Since you feel that way, why did you even bother to have me!" Joe snapped with angry tears rolling down his face. "You and Mom should have stopped after you had Frank! He's your first born, your prodigy...he's perfect. he never makes mistakes at least in your eyes. Me, I'm nothing to you... I'll never be good enough for you! That's the real reason you won't let me investigate Hayden's murder case, isn't it? It's because you think I'll screw it up. Frank would end up in prison, or worse I'll get him killed...and it will be my fault! It's always my fault!" He then turned to Vanessa and said, "this is part of what I was trying to warn you about. I'm sorry."

Joe looked around at the group that was just staring at him in shock and then tossed the plate that he had been holding back onto the pile on the picnic table and turned and started to walk away. "You know what? I can't do this right now."

"Joe, honey, don't leave please." Laura called urgently to her son.

"I'm sorry Mom, I can't be around your husband right now. I have to get away from him before I do or say something that I'll regret." Joe sniffed back an angry sob as he hurried to get away from them.

As Joe left, Laura whirled around to face her husband, "Fenton, how could you say that to him?"

"Laura, I..."

"Don't tell me, tell him!" She snapped, pointing at the son that was leaving.

"Joe, wait! I'm sorry, I let my anger get the best of me. I love you and Frank both equally." Fenton said hurrying after Joe with tears in his eyes as he reached out to grab his son's shoulder. Joe just shrugged him off as he ignored the pain in his leg from moving to quickly. "Please we can talk and work this out."

"No. Just leave me alone." Joe wiped an angry tear away. "Oh, and you can forget about the family counseling. I'm not going." He whirled back around with his crutches walking as fast as he could, quickly disappearing into a crowd of people.

"Joe!" Frank called out to him. He whirled back around at his father. "Dad, I know you're mad, I am too, but what is wrong with you? First you almost hit him the other day at the house, and now this. How could you say something so hurtful? Maybe it is best if you leave him alone for a while."

He started to go after Joe. "I better go and find him. He can't go off by himself, it's to dangerous."

"Frank, let me go after him," Biff said as he caught up to him.

"Biff please I have to..."

"I know you do. But right now, you're not in the right frame of mind." Biff placed a hand on his shoulder. "Clearly, this is a family matter that you guys are dealing with and we all know that you guys have a lot going on. And it's none of our business. None of us want to interfere, but I think maybe Joe needs a friend to talk to, instead of his brother right now. You know I won't let anything happen to him, I'll find him and bring him back to you. I promise." Biff added reassuring the older Hardy brother.

Frank took a minute to calm down and think about it. He knew that Biff was just as protective of Joe as he was. Aside from their humorous and impulsive nature that always got them in trouble, Frank knew that he could also always count on Biff to look out for Joe when he couldn't.

"Okay, thanks Biff." Frank reluctantly agreed. "Bring him back safe."

"I will." With that Biff nodded and went off in the direction that Joe had gone.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

Everyone was sitting around the tables in awkward silence, when Vanessa couldn't take it anymore. She had to say something in her defense and in Joe's as well. "Mr. Hardy? Mrs. Hardy? Joe, had a panic attack and that's the main reason why we were late."

Laura suddenly felt ashamed of their actions. Here was this young girl who was invited to this picnic by her youngest son whom he cared about very much. "Oh, Vanessa. I'm sorry honey, we owe you an apology."

"Yes, young lady. we are sorry." Fenton apologized. He felt bad and knew that it wasn't fair of them treating her like this. He knew better then to accuse someone of something without knowing all the facts, he did believe in innocent until proven guilty.

"Vanessa, you said Joe had a panic attack?" Frank asked.

"Yes, that's right." She said as she nodded. Once again, she felt all eyes on her.

"He had one just before you came to pick him up." Frank said recalling the incident at the house. "I thought he was just nervous about the date." Frank stopped himself before mentioning Iola partially because he didn't know if Joe said anything to Vanessa about her and partially because he didn't want to upset Chet. "He kept saying he had a feeling that something bad was about to happened on this date."

Then a thought came to Frank. Perhaps Vanessa could shed some light on some things. "Vanessa, why did you send the messages you sent to Callie? Can you explain them?"

Vanessa took a moment to calm down and collect her thoughts. She looked around at everyone then back to Frank. "Joe, was acting strange." She started to tear up a little, "I didn't know what to do." She wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Strange how?" Laura asked.

Vanessa quickly explained about Joe's panic attack on the drive to the pier, and their stop at the office. "As soon as we got to the office Joe had calmed down. He was really excited about showing me the office, he said it was his dream to work alongside his dad, and Frank."

"We noticed that the light was still on and the construction crew was still in there. Joe wanted to go inside and check out the place." Vanessa paused and then took a breath and continued. "As soon as Angelo and his crew left that's when Joe started acting strange again. I was going to call you Frank, but I didn't have your number so that's why I texted Callie."

Everyone, including Chet, Tony and the girls all listened intently to her explanation.

Vanessa continued, "He told me that he feels that Frank understands him better than anyone. But with you Mr. Hardy, he said that it's different. Joe said that you're two different people who don't understand each other. He even made a comment that he feels some resentment towards you but doesn't know why or where it's coming from. Then all at once he stopped talking about it and moved on to something else."

Frank and Laura exchanged puzzled looks with each other. They both looked at Fenton, who just shrugged and shook his head. They were all wondering what that was about and Fenton was just as puzzled as they were.

"Anyway, Joe tried to break off the date. He also tried to kiss me, but I slapped him across the face because at the time he was acting like a jerk. He said if I continued to see him, that I would end up getting hurt or even killed. I'm not even sure what he meant by that."

Frank thought about what she said for a moment. He looked at Callie, and then Chet. They all knew what Joe meant... Iola...

"After we talked, he looked and acted better, seeming more like himself. So, I sent the text that we were on our way and that's when we found this on my windshield." She pulled the Ziploc bag containing the flyer out of her purse and gave it to Frank.

Frank's face paled at the message in his hand. Then he turned and handed it to his father.

Fenton's face went ashen as he read the message in his hand, 'Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!' This was what Joe had been trying to tell him, first the panic attack and now this. Joe was right, I don't listen to him Fenton thought.

Fenton was at a loss for words. He felt utterly ashamed of himself for all of his actions, but especially for verbally attacking Joe and not giving him a chance to explain. Frank was right. What was wrong with him? Why was he attacking Joe like this? What kind of a father am I to hurt my child like this? Then suddenly the answer hit him like a ton of bricks, he had just become the one person he had sworn that he would never become. His father, Fredrick Hardy. He had messed up big time. If he didn't fix this, he was going to lose his son in more ways than one. Abruptly he got up from the picnic table. "I need to find Joe!"


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you everyone who left me wonderful reviews, on my last chapter and thank you to everyone who is reading, favorites, following, you are awesome. thank you to my beta reader for helping me with my story you are awesome.

I should mention there is talk of suicide in this chapter and rough language

A brother's revenge chapter 17

Joe stood at the railing at the edge of the pier deep in thought, not really paying attention to what was happening around him, negative thoughts running rampant through his mind.

What made me think he loved me? I don't blame Dad really... I'm not the good son... I'm weak and useless. Dad has Frank, Frank is the good son, he's smart and strong. Why do I hurt the people I care about so much? I'm so tired of hurting. Joe's thoughts continued to drift as he watched as a family, consisting of a mother and father with their two young boys of about 10 and 11 years old, sail across the water in their boat. They were all smiling and laughing like one big happy family. Joe so wished that could be his family... to be happy again...but it's not... not after I screwed things up... maybe if I wasn't around things would be better.

Joe's teary-eyes looked up at the stars filling in evening sky. He had never felt so hopeless. "God, please help me," He began to pray, "I've tried so hard to be good a son, a friend, a brother, I can't do it anymore, I'm not strong...and brave... I'm sorry..." Joe sniffed back tears and had his hands tightly gripping the metal railing.

He could hear people walking past him along the boardwalk, but he paid no attention to them. Their voices started to sound farther and farther away as he stared down at the water below. Would anyone notice or would they even care?

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

Biff was grateful he was in such good shape due to all his football workouts, because it took a lot of work just keeping up with those Hardy brothers. They were fast on their feet, even when they were injured, that's for sure.

This whole thing reminded Biff of the trip that he and Frank took to Bellevue when they were searching for Joe after he had been abducted by Hayden's minions. He remembered what a complete mess Frank had been at the time. How Frank had been going out of his mind with worry over his missing brother and fearing that he might be dead.

He would never forget driving along the road past the motel when Frank yelled at him to stop the van. Then before he could utter a word Frank practically flew out of the van and ran towards a wooded area clustered with trees. When he had finally caught up to Frank, he found him standing over something on the ground, it was a white sheet draped over the dead body of a man. Biff shuddered at the memory because they had both feared that it was Joe.

Biff shook the bad memories out of his head, he had to focus on what's was happening going on now, he had to find Joe.

"Damn it! I lost him." Biff cursed under his breath. He slowed down to a jog weaving in and out of the crowd. It was starting to get dark and almost time for the fireworks to start. His eyes scanned the area looking over the crowd of people searching for any sign of his blond friend. Then his gaze landed on a man in his sixties with gray hair poking out from under the blue cap he had on his head. Biff noticed that the man was wearing the name Jim on the badge clipped on a blue polo shirt with a Bayport pier logo in red print on the front. The man was sweeping up the trash along the boardwalk. He looked like he must be part of the crew that was working for the pier department.

"Excuse me?" Biff called out.

"Yes, can I help you?' The man looked up as Biff came up to him. He smiled up at the teenager.

Biff could have sworn that he saw the man flinch when he smiled, like it hurt. He didn't know why but something about this guy bugged him. But he couldn't worry about that now he had to keep his mind on finding Joe. "Did you see a young guy come past here? He has blond hair, was on crutches and was wearing a red polo shirt. "

The man rubbed his chin and thought for a minute, "hmm... come to think of it, a young fellow did come past here on crutches. He seemed really upset." He pointed in the direction he saw the blond boy had gone. Biff thanked him and took off again searching for his friend.

After a few minutes Biff made it to the start of the boardwalk, when he saw a blond figure on the boardwalk at the end of the pier, his hair glowing from the light of a streetlamp. He knew right away that that figure was Joe.

As he was trying to catch his breath, Biff noticed that Joe's crutches were on the ground at his feet, and he walked closer to his friend saying, "Dude, even on crutches you get around fast. I had a hard time keeping up with you."

Biff's heart dropped when he saw Joe gripping the metal railing tightly with his hands. His knuckles were white from the pressure he was exerting and his blue eyes were transfixed on the water below him. It appeared as if he didn't even realize that Biff was there and talking to him.

"Joe, what are you doing? Are you OK?" Biff asked, concerned.

"Joe, talk to me." Biff said when he didn't get a response.

Still nothing.

"Joe!" He said louder. This time Joe turned his head at hearing his name, Biff's heart sank even further when he saw his friend's tear-stained face and the deep sorrow in his eyes.

"Biff, go away." Joe said in a hollow voice.

"Sorry buddy, no can do." Biff said slowly walking towards his friend, not wanting to startle or pressure him and fearing what Joe was going to do.

"Please Biff, just go." Joe said sadly.

"Why?"

"I'll hurt you or get you killed. Just like Iola, just like Seth Cohen even though I never got the chance to meet him... he was murdered by Henry just because he was trying to help me. And then there's Phil. He was a good person and a good friend," Joe said tears streaming down his face, looking down at the water. "He's dead and it's all my fault."

"Hell, no, Joe." Biff replied, "It's Henry's damn fault, not yours."

"Why do you think he killed them?" Joe demanded, looking at his friend with anger in his voice. "Because of me."

Joe let out a heavy sigh, "I was the one that brought Henry into our lives. I thought he was a good friend who was being abused badly by his bastard of a father Hayden. But then Henry ended up turning on everyone who tried to help him. Look at Chet and his parents...they took him into their home because he needed a place to stay... they are good people and Henry turned on them. They didn't deserve to be treated like shit not after losing Iola. It's my fault they got hurt. They must hate me...I know if Iola was here...she would."

"My own brother even tried to warn me from the very beginning that Henry was bad news. But I didn't listen to him. I tried to see the good in Henry...I wanted to see the good in Henry…but it was all a lie. I defended him to the one person who stood by me no matter what and who means more to me than anyone or anything, and now Frank's fed up with me and I don't blame him either."

"I almost lost him twice." Joe's voice choked up as he spoke, "I'm the reason he's stressed out all the time. It's hard watching him battle his damn depression. When he was in the hospital because of his heart problem... I have never felt so terrified...not even when they hurt my leg. I thought that he was going to die."

Biff reached over to squeeze his shoulder to comfort him while he was venting. He waited patiently for Joe to continue.

Joe let out a heavy sigh, wiping the tears in his eyes. "I can't stop thinking of Henry pointing a gun at my brother's head. I tried to reason with him...I begged him not to kill Frank...but he wouldn't let up... all that time I kept thinking that he was going to shoot at any second. One false move and Henry was going to pull the trigger and my brother would be dead...and there was nothing I could've done to stop it. They fought for the gun and Henry got shot in the arm, but all he ended up with was a damn flesh wound."

"Frank is still here, Joe. He's alive." Biff said as he brought up another point. "And he's worried about you."

"He shouldn't have too." Joe said gripping the metal railing tighter, making his knuckles turn white again. His eyes were once more glued to the water down below. "If I wasn't around things would be better, especially for him."

"So how do you think Frank would feel about that?" Biff asked, not liking the hopelessness that he could hear in Joe's voice and where the direction that the conversation was going. He quickly slipped out of his shoes just in case he had to take a dive. He had promised Frank that he'd bring Joe back safely and that's what he was going to do, besides Joe was his best friend, he wasn't going to let anything happen to him if he could help it.. He casually stepped up besides Joe with his hand perched on the railing, ready to grab for his friend if he had to.

"He's going to Princeton so his life is set and besides he has Callie now...she's going to be his wife; she'll take care of him." Joe said as he continued to stare down at the water.

"What about the new agency? I thought that was your dream?" Biff said trying to get through to his best friend. Silently, praying for the right words to say.

"Dad has Frank and Sam; they don't really need me, especially since all I seem to do is just cause problems and screw up. The business will take off with them, they are all damn good detectives."

"What about your mom?"

"Biff, please I know what you're trying to do. It's not going to change my mind." Joe said as he sighed.

Biff was racking his brain trying to think of a way to stop his friend from doing something foolish and irreversible. Then suddenly an idea came to him, he knew it's exactly what Frank would do, it had to work, it just had to.

"Well I guess you've got it all figured out then, huh?" He said out loud and praying to the heavens that his idea would work. "Football's sure going to suck next year." Biff shook his head.

Joe tore his eyes way from the water and looked at his friend strangely. "What? I'm standing here pouring my heart out to you...and… and you're worried about football?"

'Well, hell yeah, you know I eat, sleep and breathe football. Now that Johnny Stevens has graduated and moved to California; that means you've moved up in ranks as quarterback. Morton and I can't carry the team alone. As a matter of fact, the whole team needs you. I mean we're talking about our senior year Joe. It's supposed to be a fun, wild and crazy time! It's our turn to rule the school." Biff glanced back at Joe's to see his reaction.

Sure, enough, Joe turned and gave him a sour look. "Rule the school?"

"Yeah, I know it's cheesy, Frank gave me that same look when I said it to him." Biff replied turning his eyes back to the water watching the boats pass by. So far, his idea was working he had to keep going, "What about senior prom? Lizzy already said she'd be my date. I really like her; I'm thinking of asking her to be my girlfriend."

"Good for you." Joe replied.

"I wonder who Vanessa will go to the prom with." Biff was trying his damnedest, and he was not giving up. He was not going to lose his best friend. "She is pretty hot; I imagine she'll have guys lining up to ask her out."

"She's better off with someone else. At least then she won't end up hurt or dead." Joe said turning his attention back to the water.

"Are you kidding? You are a bonehead if you let a girl like that slip away." Biff said, shrugging his shoulders "But if you're not going to be around then who's to stop someone from asking her out."

"After today she'll probably run as far away from me as possible."

"Joe, if Vanessa's still here after all this Hardy crazy shit, then she's the one for you."

"Well, then I guess we'll never know." Joe said keeping his attention on the water suddenly lost in his thoughts.

"I guess." Biff could see the wheels turning in his friend's head. Before Joe could counter back, he decided to try one last approach.

"Joe, you and I have always been straight with each other. I'm mean we call out bullshit when we see it. Well I'm seeing it now and I can tell you, this isn't you. I've known you since grade one. You would never take the easy way out, because you like doing things the hard way."

"If you don't think people care about you, you're wrong...we need you." Biff stated simply. "And maybe you don't care about Frank, as much as you say you do."

"I do too. I love my brother." Joe shot back tearing his eyes away from the water, he loosened his grip on the railing and looked at his friend.

Biff had to force back a small grin when he saw it: a flicker in Joe's blue eyes. He knew he had him. He cleared his throat. "Well you've a funny way of showing it. You're going to leave him at a time when he needs you the most. Frank is still in a lot of trouble Joe; he's being accused of murdering that bastard Hayden. He could still go to prison."

"I know that Biff, but Dad won't let me help with the case. He doesn't trust me. He hates me. He wants me to be more like Frank and I keep disappointing him and proving him right." Joe replied somberly as he sniffed back tears. He turned his eyes back to the water.

"No, he doesn't hate you." Biff replied. He had to admit he was still angry at Fenton Hardy for hurting Joe the way he did. Then again, he didn't know the whole story.

"Yes, he does!" Joe shouted with angry tears as he shook his head, "You heard him...hell everyone did."

"He was just upset." Biff said trying to keep his voice calm. "Sometimes people say things they don't mean when they're angry or even scared."

"No, he hates me," Joe sniffed back another sob. "I don't blame him really, because I'm not the son he wants..."

"That's not true." A voice said behind them causing both boys to jump.

Joe's anxiety began to rise at hearing that voice and it made his blood start to boil. He turns his head and sure enough there he was, the great Fenton Hardy standing behind them.

Biff whirled around to see Fenton standing there. He started to feel a bit nervous. He almost had Joe off the railing and here comes Mr. Hardy to get Joe all stirred up again.

Fenton had found Joe and Biff in a full conversation on the boardwalk at the end of the pier. He had stopped in his tracks when he heard what Joe had said. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop but he was frozen because of the startling sight unfolding before him. There was Joe looking really upset and with his crutches laying on the ground and his hands gripping the metal railing. His tear-filled blue eyes were transfixed on the water below him. Biff had his shoes off and his hands on the railing as if ready to make a move.

Seeing Joe and Biff like that threw Fenton back several years to one of the most traumatic days of his life and thoughts raced through his head. Dear God...no please. Not Joe... I can't lose my son... not like this...not like my father... The face of Fredrick Hardy suddenly crystallized in his mind... he could still hear the gunshots...see the blood on the walls, his body completely still on the floor it was as if it happened yesterday. Fenton shook the memory of the incident out of his head, he needed to keep his focus on Joe right now.

"Go away, I have nothing to say to you." Joe said heatedly he whirled back around keeping his eyes on the water, his leg giving way slightly but his hands were tightly gripping the railing.

"Fair enough." Fenton said slowly stepping up to the railing on Joe's other side, reminding himself to stay calm and collected. "I get that you're angry with me. That's fine. You have a right to be." He took a deep breath and looked out at the water. "How about I make you a deal? You listen to what I have to say and then I'll leave you alone."

Joe was quiet and staring down at the water; Biff could see the wheels turning in his head but wasn't sure if he was going to say anything.

Fenton waited patiently for his son to respond, although it was hard.

"Fine." Joe finally answered.

Fenton let out a breath he was holding and saying a silent prayer for the right words to come. "Biff, could you give us a moment alone, please?"

"Joe, do you want me to go?" Biff glanced questioningly at Joe to be sure, he wasn't going to leave his friend if he didn't want him to.

"It's okay Biff." Joe said softly, shifting nervously from one leg to the other. His left leg was starting to hurt from standing on it too long. But he didn't care. His eyes never left the water and his hands remained gripping the railing.

"Okay." Biff replied, as he slipped his shoes back on. "I'm not going to be far though, so if you need me holler." He glared at Fenton as he spoke. He was still nervous about leaving Joe alone with him, so he walked away to the other side of the boardwalk just far enough away so he couldn't hear what was being said but he was still close enough that he could intervene if he thought that he needed to.

Fenton nodded his acknowledgment to Biff. After what had happened earlier, he didn't blame him for hanging around.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

Once the two were alone, Fenton took a moment to gather himself. He casually leaned forward and resting rested his arms on the railing as he looked up at the evening sky at the stars. He then looked down at the water below before turning his eyes to his son.

He had caught the wince on his son's face and knew that Joe needed to get off of his leg, which, in a way, was a blessing in disguise. He took a deep breath and said calmly, "Why don't we go have a seat so you can rest your leg?" He gestured to an empty bench just a few feet away.

Joe remained quiet with his eyes cast down at the water; Fenton didn't think he was going to comply at first but then to his surprise, Joe let go of the railing and took a step back. An abrupt, "fine," was his only reply.

Fenton picked up the crutches off of the ground and handed them to Joe. Without a word, Joe took them from his father and quickly made his way over to the bench, where he propped them up against the bench and carefully sat down.

At least he's off the railing. Fenton thought, that was a start. He had to admit he was feeling apprehensive. He was stepping into a familiar territory that he didn't want to be in, and it was bringing back many bad memories. For he too was once was in that dark place where Joe was standing in now, and his own father had been consumed by that dark place and it took his life.

Fenton had feared that Frank would be the son to be consumed by the darkness of his depression, but he seemed to be dealing with it fairly well, despite everything that had happened and was happening with him. With his focus on Frank, Fenton had failed to realize that it was Joe, his normally bright and happy baby boy, that was being consumed by the darkness. He had to be very careful of what he was going to say to his son, as one wrong word and Joe would be back on the railing and letting the darkness rule his life.

Fenton took a deep breath to calm his nerves and sat down on the bench beside him. Joe pursed his lips together, folded his arms to his chest in a defensive posture and turned his head away from Fenton, staring back across the water.

"You wanted to talk, so talk." Joe said.

"Joe will you please look at me?"

"Did you hear everything?" Joe asked dryly, leaning back slightly and stretching out his legs, while still gazing out at the bay.

"Pretty much." Fenton said. "The part about me hating you, it's not true…"

"Yeah, right. If it's not true then why did you say what you did?' Joe scoffed keeping his head turned away. "I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment and I can't be more like Frank."

"Joe, please look at me. I need you to see me as well as listen to me." Fenton asked.

Joe reluctantly did as he was instructed; he turned his head and glared at Fenton, his eyes pain filled and resigned.

It was killing Fenton inside seeing the hurt and anger in his son's eyes, and knowing that he had caused most of it.

"First off, " Fenton said. "Joe, I owe you an apology, I am utterly ashamed of myself for all of my actions, but especially for verbally attacking you and not giving you a chance to explain things earlier. "

" I don't want you to be like Frank, what I meant to say was that I just wish you would use some of his sense of caution." He paused and then continued. "And there are times when I wish he was a lot like you, by pushing himself to try new things."

He stopped speaking when people passed by them to continue on their way. Fenton blinked as his eyes began to mist, and his voice began to crack as he spoke. "I've failed to protect you and your brother so many times, I can't even begin to count them. I didn't protect you from Hayden's abuse, and then when you were abducted out at the Morton farm..."

Joe just raised an eyebrow at seeing his father get emotional, he had never seen his father like this before and it was a little hard to take in and believe.

"Those three days that you were missing was the most terrifying three days of my life. The whole time I feared that maybe Hayden had...kill..." He stopped himself he couldn't finish that word.

"Then you were found by Con alive, only to learn that you had been shot in the leg and almost died...and now this threat against you boys is forever ingrained in my head... 'When you were late getting here...I thought you were in trouble and that maybe this time...the threat was carried out..."

Fenton paused for a moment to change the subject slightly. " Truthfully, I am angry and frustrated that I can't be a part of Hayden's murder investigation either. Knowing that Frank is in trouble and there's nothing I can do but to sit back and let Chief Collig and his officers handle it, it's extremely frustrating."

"I've been taking my anger out on you Joe, and for that I am truly sorry. I promised myself that if I ever became a father that I would never become MY father."

"What do you mean, YOUR father." Joe asked skeptically.

"He used to say things to me that were hurtful and demeaning, although he never got physically violent with me, the verbal and emotional abuse was just as painful. Those are the kind of scars that takes longer to heal."

"Do you hate him?" Joe asked.

Fenton couldn't let go of what Vanessa had said after Joe had left the picnic and the feeling and word of the word resentment., It bothered him to think he has been a terrible father for making Joe feel that. He didn't know where that was coming from. He wanted to get to the bottom of that issue, but he had to be patient and let his son bring it up.

He saw the look in Joe's eyes; he wanted an answer and he was getting impatient. He answered the only way he knew how to, by giving Joe the truth. "Yes, sometimes I hated him, because he'd never apologized for it, except for the note that he left us before he took his life."

Fenton took a deep breath. He was working hard to keep his emotions at bay. Then he stopped himself...no he couldn't do that; he couldn't hide his emotions anymore. He had to set an example for Joe and let him know that it was okay to cry. That was the advice he kept expressing to Frank because of his fear of showing his emotions. It would be hypocritical of him if he didn't follow his own advice.

"I don't want that to be us." Fenton cleared his throat. and then he sighed wearily. "I have been under the impression that you are afraid of me and can't come and talk with me because of the way that I would react. I'm sorry for making you feel that way, Son."

Joe looked down at his feet and started shifting nervously on the bench. He wished he knew why he felt some resentment towards his father. He wanted so much to have his strong arms around him to feel safe, the way that he used to when he was really little. He just couldn't right now, it didn't feel right.

Fenton continued, "Please don't ever be afraid to talk to me." He paused to take a breath. "Even if we get angry and agreed to disagree with each other on things. It is important to want to keep the lines of communication open between us."

He reached over and gently lifted his son's chin with his hand to make sure he was looking at him and listening, "There is nothing you could ever do or say that would make me love you any less. I love you Joe, more than anything in the world. Besides your mother, you and Frank are the most important people in my life."

"You know, we're so good at helping other people solve their problems, but went it comes to dealing with our problems we intend to want to run away from them and avoid them." Fenton, paused for a moment and then continued. "And a lot of that is my fault. "

"I should have been honest from the start with you boys about your grandfather's mental illness, but at the time I didn't know how to deal with it myself and for that I found myself in that dark place of depression. That has to stop with you two boys, we need to deal with these issues and not run away from them because it is nothing to be ashamed of. I strongly believe family counseling will help us do just that." Fenton said.

"What if it doesn't help? What if our problems are too big to fix?" Joe asked, rubbing his hands together nervously in his lap.

"Look, Joe, what happened to Iola, Phil and Seth Cohen, Chet and his parents, none of that is not your fault. That was a choice that someone else made. As for Frank, and, you most certainly did not cause your brother's heart problem or depression. It's just something that happened."

Joe shrugged. "I'm sorry, Dad I can't help how I feel. And it is my fault. I'm not good, so counseling is not going to do any good."

"Joe, is there a reason why you're so hesitant about going to counseling?" A thought suddenly entered Fenton's mind, he had to ask it. "You do like Dr. Reese, right? Do you like talking to her? Are you comfortable with her?"

"Yes, I like her." Joe simply said. "She's doing a good job of helping Frank deal with his depression. It's just not for me." He was suddenly feeling nervous but he didn't know why.

"Is it because she's a woman?" Fenton asked, "Would you feel more comfortable talking to a male counselor? There is no shame in that. Dr. Reese would understand if you wanted to."

Instead of answering, Joe went quiet he turned his head letting his eyes gaze out on the water lost in his thoughts; however, he was rubbing is hands intermittently absent-mindedly across his shorts. Fenton saw it as a sure sign that something was definitely wrong. He wondered if that could be it?

"Joe, are you alright?"

"No. I don't want to talk to a male counselor." Joe said abruptly, snapping out of his thoughts, blinking his eyes. He looked around the pier at the people passing by them before looking at his father and the concern evident on Fenton's face. "Yes, I like Dr. Reese. I don't know, I just don't think it will help."

"We have to be able to work together. If we can't work out our problems and build a trusting relationship, how do we expect our clients to trust us? Plus, for the sake of our family, it's worth a try. What do you say?"

Once again, Joe went quiet as he turned his head letting his eyes gaze out on the water. He straightened up and looked at Fenton. "Can I think about it?"

"Yes, of course, take as much time as you need." Suddenly the sound of Fenton's cell phone ringing brought them both to attention.

Fenton immediately picked up the phone and answered, "Detective Hardy speaking."

"Fenton, it's Sam. Boy, have I got information you need to hear." Fenton's heartbeat began to quicken. By the expression on his father's face, Joe knew something was going on.

"Dad, what is it? Does it have to do with Hayden's murder investigation?" Joe asked the minute Fenton hung up his phone. He was doing his best not to panic; he just wanted some good news for a change.

Fenton hesitated to answer at first, but then again maybe it would give Joe some encouragement. Get his mind on something else like a little detective work.

"No actually, Joe, it has to do with the hospital fire case Sam is working on." Fenton replied, giving him the rundown of what Sam had told him.

That perked Joe right up, "Did Sam find out what caused the fire?"

"He did. There's a possibility a bomb may have been planted in a utility closet on the second floor near an elevator, fragments were found which could explain how the fire and smoke spread.

"A bomb?" Joe repeated.

Fenton nodded, "Sam and the authorities that are involved with the investigation as well as the fire marshal believe that someone had switched off the breaker that controls the system thereby and disabling the backup generators. That someone would have to have knowledge and access to the main fire control system."

"Frank, said he saw Ryan on the second floor. He chased after him out of the hospital and through the courtyard. Frank said that he jumped into a black car." Joe began, thinking of what his brother had told him of that night of the fire. "We know he's the main suspect in that fire case. So, it's obvious that Ryan had help."

"Dad, you said that someone had to have had knowledge and access to the main fire control system. That someone would have had to know his or her way around the hospital?" Joe began to theorize, he all at once felt himself slip into detective mode. "Like a maintenance worker, or a doctor...or maybe a nurse...The only person I can think of that could've helped him", then his blue eyes lit up like a lightning bolt, "Nurse Crazy!"

A smile spread across Fenton's face; this was exactly the encouragement that Joe needed. He then said, "We don't know that for sure, and we're going to need proof."

"What's going on?" Biff asked as he ran over to Joe after hearing and seeing the excitement on Joe's face from across the boardwalk he quickly ran over to his friend.

"I'll tell you on the way." Joe exclaimed all full of enthusiasm and excitement he grabbed his crutches and quickly stood up and headed back towards the picnic area to find his brother. "I have to tell Frank!"

"Hold on Joe! Not so fast." Fenton lightly chuckled softly as he shook his head, thinking to himself that. At least he made some progress... At least he was off the railing, and he opened up a little. Hopefully he'll agree to go to counseling. He got to his feet to catch up to the boys.

FJFJFJFJFJFJ

Back at the picnic area, Laura and Gertrude had gone for a walk to talk and to clear their heads after the confrontation between Fenton and Joe. Frank and his friends all agreed to stay and wait for them to return.

Frank sat around the table with Callie and his friends. He couldn't get the confrontation between his dad and brother out of his head as well. How could his dad say such hurtful things to Joe? His mind went back to the comment Vanessa had made that Joe was feeling some resentment towards their father. Where did that come from? Is something going on? Is there something that happened that I've missed?

He felt utterly drained and his depression was hitting him in waves, he just wanted to breakdown and cry, but once again he forced his fatigue aside, he had to keep it together, now wasn't the time to break, he needed to be strong.

Frank could see the shock still on the faces of their friends so he took a deep breath and said., "Guys, I want to apologize for what just happened..."

"Frank, there's no need to apologize," Chet spoke up first. He pushed his empty plate aside. " I know you told us there was friction between your dad and brother, but wow. We didn't realize things were that bad."

He was trying to find the right words to say to comfort Frank. But in truth he didn't know what to say. He'd known the Hardy's most of his life. He and Iola grew up with Frank and Joe. They were like a second family to him. They've been there for each other in both the good times and the bad and had grown a lot closer after the horrific death of his sister. It bothered Chet a lot to see the Hardy's fighting like this.

"Yeah it's that bad." Frank said as he slowly sat back down at the picnic table. "I told you guys about the window incident and the blow-up Joe and Dad had then."

"Did your dad really almost hit Joe?" Tony asked the question that everyone was thinking. He couldn't believe how Mr. Hardy and Joe were acting towards each other, he cringed. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, it's okay." Frank answered. "Yes, he almost did, until I stepped in. I think everyone is just stressed out by everything that is going on. There are things about my family I can't talk about, because, some of it is not mine, and there are things that are confidential. We were planning on going to family counseling to hopefully work out some of the issues. But now it's probably all shot to hell."

"Frank." Callie said softly, sitting down next to him, leaning into him and rubbing his back, trying to comfort him. "Are you okay? Do you want to go home?"

"More than anything. I want to go home and curled up in my bed and go to sleep and pretend this last couple days never happened. But, I can't." Frank straightened up and looked at her, with tears in his eyes.

"How about the two of us go for a walk then?" Callie suggested. She slipped her hand into Frank's. She could sense that he needed to get away for a bit.

"I promised my mom we'd wait here for Joe and Dad. I need to be here in case something happens."

"We'll wait for them." Lizzy said.

"Yes, we just want to help." Brenda said, she wasn't sure about everything that had happened. She just knew the Hardy brothers were really nice guys, and wanted to offer some comfort and support.

"Yeah." Marcy said kindly. "We're here for you, whatever you need."

"Thank you. All of you," Frank said gratefully, "Talking about this really helps and your support means a lot."

"Yeah you two go ahead." Lizzy said and began gathering up the dirty plates. "We'll start cleaning up the picnic. That way your mom and aunt don't have to."

"That's a good idea." Brenda said pitching in to help clean up along with Chet and Tony.

Frank and Callie got up from the table and began to go for their walk.

"Frank?" Vanessa said getting up from the table to catch up to them. "Do you think Joe will be alright?" She wiped the tears from her eyes. She couldn't stop thinking about Joe. And she couldn't believe what had transpired between him and his dad.

"He will be, eventually." Frank replied, he felt bad seeing her upset. then he asked, " you really do care about him don't you?"

"I do. I just hate to see him like this." Vanessa said.

Suddenly her phone began to ring. She took it out of her purse, "It's my mom. She's here, I better go meet up with her. I don't know what to say to her. I really wanted her to meet Joe, but I guess now is not really a good time."

"Vanessa, I think..." Frank started to ask when he was interrupted by a shout grabbing everyone's attention.

"Frank!"

Even though it was dark out, but thankfully with the help of glow of the street lights Frank looked up to see his younger brother hurrying up to him as fast as he could on his crutches. Even with the darkness fast approaching, Frank could see the with excitement all over Joe's face. He saw his Dad and Biff trying hard to keep up with him. Now what's going on?

"Joe, slow down!" Frank called to his brother. Then something out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention and ran towards his brother. "Joe, look out!"

But it was too late, before Joe could stop in his tracks, "Joeeeee!" A little voice called out. Hearing his name Joe immediately whirled around only to be tackled to the ground by a little blond blur.


	18. Chapter 18

**_Hello everyone I am back with a new chapter. Apparently, people are having trouble with their stories being downloaded so I hope this new chapter finds you and the problem be solved soon, I know there are several stories I'd like to catch up on, until then I have to wait. I want to thank those who left me wonderful reviews, following, favorites, or just reading. and a big thank you to my beta reader for you help, here's my new chapter hope you like it. The is strong language here._**

A brother's revenge chapter 18

'Jim' stopped sweeping along the boardwalk and adjusted the blue cap on his head. He watched Joe and Biff disappear in the crowd and saw Fenton following close behind them. Unbeknownst to all three of them he witnessed the drama and heard everything that took place.

An evil grin spread across his face, and he began to mutter to himself, "So, Detective, your precious baby boy has some real messed up issues, huh? What a shame. You don't want him involved with Jack's murder investigation. Oh, too bad, you can't be involved either...why is that? Oh, that's right, because your other son killed my brother. If Joe wants to leave this world, let's not stand in his way. As a matter of fact, I'm going to make sure that happens, and as an added bonus he's going to take his brother with him."

"If you thought that damn hospital fire was a blast...just you wait Detective, you and your sons haven't seen anything yet. Damn it!" He rubbed a hand over the latex mask where it was pinching his cheek. "I can't wait to get this stupid thing off my face." He took a disposable phone from the pocket of his shirt and hit a number on the speed dial. "Damn it, Picasso pick up."

"Yo! Ryan baby, is that you?" The Artist finally answered on the second ring.

"Who else would it be dumbass?" Ryan growled into the phone. "What took you so long to answer?"

"What the hell? Calm down. We've been busy carrying out YOUR plan. Your hot chick and that pain in the ass nephew of yours just took care of the rest of the crew who were prepping for the fireworks."

"And as for yours truly, I just arrived with my 'masterpiece', which I'll be setting up here in a little bit." Picasso bragged on the other line, "In fact, I think I've really out done myself this time and build two. They are a couple of beauties! You'll get to play with the second one later, the first one is for tonight. It's going to be one hell of a show."

"Oh, by the way I took a leisurely stroll through this cookie cutter town an hour or so ago. It's got a Hallmark kind of feel to it... and I like it. And judging from the up keep on some of these vintage homes the people here are shit loaded with moolah. I could do some serious damage here."

"You just remember Fenton Hardy lives in this town." Ryan reminded him, "So, don't go stirring up trouble just yet. We'll have him on our tails soon enough once we go after his boys."

"Oh, that reminds me," Picasso cut in, "I saw your little fish coming out of some office building with a blonde beauty with a pair of long legs all the way up to her firm tight ass. I followed them here to the pier." He smiled coyly as he puffed out a stream of smoke from his cigarette. "Damn I want to tap that!"

"Another time." Ryan countered, "Tonight, has to go according to MY plan. No screw ups, understand? Remember we're here to avenge Jack's death. Our goal is to have Joe Hardy by the end of the night, so we can proceed with the next phase of my plan. To get revenge for my brother!"

"Whatever you say, Boss." Picasso said just before he hung up the phone. He took one last puff of his cigarette and tossed the phone into the passenger seat of his black van.

"You can call the shots, for now, Ryan baby, after all this is your show. But just wait...just you wait. I'll get my turn. Soon everyone in this town will know my name and who the fuck I am, Sal 'Picasso' Mancini." He flicked his cigarette out of the window. He smiled inwardly and his eyes darkened. "The Artist."

FJFJFJFJFJ

"Vanessa, I think..." Frank started to ask when he was interrupted by a shout grabbing everyone's attention.

"Frank!"

Even though it was starting to get dark out, with the help of the soft glow of the street lights Frank could see his younger brother hurrying up to him as fast as he could on his crutches. Even with the darkness fast approaching, Frank could see the excitement written all over Joe's face. He saw his Dad and Biff trying hard to keep up with him. Now what's going on? He thought.

"Joe, slow down!" Frank called to his brother. Then something out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention and ran towards his brother. "Joe, look out!"

But it was too late, before Joe could stop in his tracks, "Joeeeee!" A little voice called out. Hearing his name Joe immediately turned around as fast as he could on his crutches only to be tackled to the ground by a little blond blur.

FJFJFJFJFJ

Joe hit the ground hard, with a loud "oomph!" as his breath was knocked out of him and his crutches fell at his side.

"Oh, my gosh!" Vanessa exclaimed and ran towards Joe. As Frank and Callie raced towards his brother and the little blond blur. Tony, Chet and the other girls watching the scene with concern.

As Frank got closer, he realized the little blond blur was actually a very familiar little boy of about seven years old wearing red shorts and a red t-shirt with a soccer ball on the front and he was sitting on top of Joe's chest.

"Gotcha, Joe!" the little boy called out.

Joe knew that little voice... However, at the moment he couldn't think as pain shot up his injured leg and at the same time, he was trying to catch his breath.

Finally, after a few seconds the pain began to subside, Joe blinked his eyes until his vision became clear enough to see the face of a little blond boy sitting on his chest with a mischievous smile on his face. "Hey, Trevor." Joe huffed out his name.

"Trevor! Oh, my gosh! Joe are you OK?" He heard a man and a woman exclaimed in unison. Joe knew their voices too. He glanced up to see they were the boy's parents Pete McNeely the manager of the Police Department shooting range, and his wife Lindsey a petite woman in her early thirties wearing a casual spaghetti strap sundress with yellow sunflowers, her long brunette hair cascading down her shoulders.

"Uh-oh?" The boy grimaced at the sound of his parents calling his name.

"Son, what are we going to do with you? I swear you're like a bull in a china shop." Pete said as he picked Trevor up off of Joe. Joe felt an instant relief as the small weight was lifted off of his chest, and he started to take in small and steady breaths.

"Trevor honey, come here. You can't just go running up to people like that. You have to be more careful." Lindsey said to her little boy.

"But, Mommy, Daddy, I was playing Gotcha with Joe." The boy said whining as his dad sat him down on the ground next to his mother.

"Well, you got him alright." His father knelt down to the boy's level and replied, "But, listen Trevor, Joe can't play that tag game with you right now. He's got an injured leg. I'm sure once his leg is all better, I'm sure that he'll be happy to play that game with you, but right now you have to wait. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." Trevor said in a small voice.

Pete nodded, "Good, now let's go tell Joe that you're sorry." He said getting to his feet.

Meanwhile Joe found himself surrounded by his friends and family and a few curious onlookers from the crowd. "Joe, are you alright?" Biff said kneeling beside him.

"Yeah, I think so." Joe grunted as he slowly sat up with Biff's help.

Frank knelt down on the other side of his brother. "Joe, don't try to move." He put his hand on his shoulder to keep him from standing up.

"Bro, I'm fine, really." Joe tried to reassure him. "Stop making a fuss. I just got the wind knocked out of me."

"Listen to your brother, Joe." Fenton said to him as he crouched next to Frank. "Are you hurt anywhere? Is your leg..."

"Dad, I said, I'm fine." Joe said a little more harshly than he intended, between breaths.

Fenton pushed back the hurt he felt at that. He could tell that Joe's feelings were still a little raw towards him after their earlier encounter. He knew that he just had to be patient and keep trying with him. They still had some things to work out and it was going to take time.

Joe caught the hurt look in his father's eyes and instantly felt guilty for snapping at him, after all he was just trying to help him. "Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I just..."

"It's okay, Joe. That's not important right now." Fenton replied. He decided to let that outburst go. After all, on top of everything else that was going on, he had another big issue to deal with due to the dark turn of events Joe had displayed earlier.

As the chilling image of Joe standing on the railing at the boardwalk of the pier looking over the water passed through his mind, it sent shivers down Fenton's spine. If Joe was having suicidal thoughts, he couldn't ignore that issue, but it also meant that Joe shouldn't be left alone. Someone would have to stay close to him at all times, just in case.

However, this was something he knew he couldn't do alone; he knew he couldn't... he was going to need everyone's help. Family and friends. Fenton looked up at Frank and Joe's friends, Callie then finally Vanessa. He would need their help in keeping Joe's mind distracted from his negative thoughts, to get him out of that bad place and to get him to focus on something else, and they needed to do that without making it completely obvious to Joe that that was what they were doing.

He would notify Dr. Reese as soon as he could find a moment to discretely get away from the group. He needed to let her know immediately what was going on with Joe. The sooner he spoke with the doctor the sooner they could plan the next course of action on how to handle Joe, his depression, and to get him the help that he needed. Now he just had to figure out how to explain it to Laura, Frank and Gertrude without them freaking out. Fenton took a deep breath, trying his best to stay calm and look like nothing was wrong.

Frank had noticed the strangeness between his father and brother. He could tell that something had happened. Earlier as he waited worriedly with his friends for his father and brother to return, he had sensed through his connection with his brother that something horrible was wrong with Joe. He hadn't wanted to mention the bad feeling he was getting in front of his friends or Callie, because he was afraid if he said it out loud then that feeling he felt would become more than just a feeling and would come true. He had put his trust in Biff to bring Joe back safe. And Biff had done just that, Joe was back, but something wasn't quite right. What was going on now? Did Dad and Joe get into another fight? He could tell that his father was extremely concerned and worried, but was trying to mask his emotions, and what the hell was Joe so excited about before his run-in with Trevor?

"Joe, let's get you up on your feet." Fenton said breaking into Frank's thoughts. Fenton, Frank and Biff all carefully helped Joe to stand up.

"Here you go, Joe." Callie said picking up the crutches off of the ground and handed them back to him.

"Thanks Callie." Joe replied, taking the crutches from her.

Fenton, Frank and Biff let go of the youngest Hardy once they were sure that he was steady on his feet with his crutches. As they stepped back to give him some space, Vanessa asked with concern in her voice. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry babe." Joe took a breath, "It's going to take more than getting knocked down by a seven-year-old to keep me down, good thing I have crutches."

"Fenton, Joe, I am so sorry about this." Pete apologized limping up to the Hardy's. "Trevor has been a ball of energy all day. Honestly, I don't know where he gets it sometimes." He was a little bit nervous about seeing the Hardy's again since it had been his careless and stupid mistake that had caused Frank's gun to go missing in the first place.

"There's no need to apologize clearly Trevor was just being enthusiastic." Fenton said accepting Pete's handshake, "I can relate about your son being a ball of energy."

"Plus, he was super excited about the possibility of seeing your boys tonight." Pete added, " On the ride here he kept asking us if they were going to be here. We told him, we'll have to wait and see. As soon as he got out of the car, he started looking for them. Once we got to the boardwalk, he saw Joe, and he just took off running to him before we could stop him."

Frank and Joe's faces flushed a bright shade of pink as Fenton smiled at hearing that. It was a known fact that Pete's little boy was a huge fan of his sons. Frank and Joe always saw themselves as normal teenagers, doing normal teenage stuff. Being detectives and solving mysteries was just a job that they did and was nothing special. However, to an impressionable 7-year-old boy, being teenage detectives was kind of a big deal, and Trevor regarded Frank and Joe as if they were superheroes.

Fenton was proud of his boys in return. Frank and Joe weren't around little kids very much; however, they were very good about interacting with Trevor in their own way. Frank was a little more reserved with Trevor but with the right timing and circumstances, when he felt more comfortable with the little boy, Frank would interact and play fun games with him. Most times the circumstance became favorable because of Joe. He had always had the magic touch in getting his big brother into being more outgoing and social, and to have fun, because Joe himself was normally happy and outgoing. So, it came easily for Joe to be outgoing and social with Trevor and of course he had the energy to match.

"Hey, Joe good to see you." Pete said extending his hand out to Joe. He had on a blue t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up showing off his muscular arms, and a pair of khaki shorts. "And I am so sorry about this, I hope Trevor didn't hurt you?"

"It's good to see you, too." Joe replied steadying himself and accepting Pete's handshake. "No, he didn't hurt me. He just took me by surprise that's all. I'm fine really."

He was still a little peeved with the shooting range manager for his careless mistake that caused Frank's gun to go missing. The same gun that had been stolen by the dark-haired figure who resembled Frank. Joe knew without a doubt that it was not Frank he saw on the security tape, taking the gun, the same weapon that was found at the crime scene on Shore Road where Jack Hayden had been found murdered, he just needed to find a way to prove it.

"Good, that's good to hear," Pete said, "Trevor, don't you have something to tell Joe?" He looked down expecting to see his son at his side, only to find that he was missing. He frowned and turned towards his wife and looked down to see him hiding behind his mother.

When he realized that Trevor hadn't followed him, Pete beckon him with his finger to come forward, "Trevor, come here, please."

The little boy poked his head out from behind his mother. He threw a pleading look up at her, because he knew he was in trouble. "Go on." she said coaxing him out from behind her with her arm.

Finally, the little boy slowly stepped out with his head hung down and cautiously walked forward towards his father.

Frank had to bite back a smile. He felt a bit sorry seeing the scared look on the little boy's face. He couldn't believe this scrawny but wiry, barely four-foot-tall, fifty-pound little boy, took down Joe who was twice his size and weight. Trevor reminded him so much of Joe when he was that age. Even his antics and actions were so like things that Joe used to do.

The little boy began fidgeting with the corner of his shirt bunching it up in his hands as he stood in front of Joe. He raised his head and said in a small voice. "Sorry, Joe. I didn't mean to knock you down. Are you mad at me?" A tear ran down his cheek.

"I know it was an accident and that you didn't mean to knock me down, I get it you were excited to see me, I have that effect on people." Joe smiled gently, noting the fear on Trevor's face, so he reached out to ruffle his hair. "And no, I'm not mad at you."

"Really? You still like me?" A big smile spread across Trevor's little face.

"Yeah of course I like you. We're best buds." Joe smiled, holding his arms out to the boy, "Now can I have a hug?"

"Gently this time." Pete advised his son. Trevor did as his father instructed and carefully wrapped his arms around Joe's waist. Joe wasted no time and enveloped the boy in his arms.

"Awe." Vanessa cooed. That was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. She didn't think that she couldn't be more in love with Joe as she was right at this moment.

"Daddy said we can't play Gotcha, cause your leg is hurt. Is it worser now?" Trevor asked Joe as he released Trevor from the hug.

"No, it's okay my leg doesn't hurt as much. It'll be good as new in no time." Joe answered. "I promise, when my leg is all better, we'll play, Gotcha. Okay?"

"Okay." Trevor looked down at the bandage on Joe's injured leg. "Do you have a metal leg like Daddy?"

Unsure of how to answer Trevor's question Joe threw a look at the boy's father. He knew it was impolite but he couldn't help but cast his eyes at Pete's prosthetic leg. He still felt a little guilty, for it was not that long ago that he had almost shared the same fate as the former cop. Thankfully he had survived and still had his leg intact, whereas Pete, even though he survived his ordeal had still lost a part of himself.

"Trevor, I think..." Pete started to say.

Sensing the awkwardness Fenton stepped in immediately. He crouched down to the boy's level. "Trevor, do you like hot dogs?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah." The boy nodded with excitement. His question suddenly forgotten and now his attention was now on hot dogs. Joe breathed a sigh of relief as Pete mouthed the words 'thank you' to Fenton for diverting the question to a different topic.

"Really, how many can you eat?" Fenton asked with a grin.

The boy smiled, he held up three fingers. "Three."

"Three? Are you sure?" Fenton asked playfully in disbelief, scrunching up his nose.

Trevor enthusiastically nodded his response.

"Hot dogs that sounds good right now." Joe chimed in; he patted his stomach as it growled. "That reminds me, I have eaten anything all day and I am starving."

"Well let's all go over to the picnic area and we can fix that." Fenton said.

"Can we Mommy?" Trevor said to her with pleading blue eyes.

"Oh, thank you kindly, Mr. Hardy, we don't want you to go to any trouble on our account." Lindsey spoke up.

"It's no trouble at all, we have plenty of food." Fenton said to the young mother. 'And please call me Fenton."

Lindsey looked over at her husband who nodded slightly, and turned back to Fenton and replied. 'Thank you, Fenton we accept."

"Yay!" Trevor exclaimed jumping excitingly up and down on his feet. "Can I sit next to you, Joe?"

"You bet." Joe smiled; he looks at his beautiful angel. "You don't mind, do you Vanessa?"

"Not at all." Vanessa lightly laughed.

'Hey, Trevor," Frank spoke up. "What about me? Don't I get a hug?" He held out his arms to the little boy.

"I think Frank's feeling a little left out." Joe said to Trevor. "Why don't you go show him some love." with a big smile on his face Trevor rushed up to Frank and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Thank you, Trevor, I feel better now." The older Hardy brother said as he wasted no time and enveloped the little boy in his arms. He had to admit he has always a little hesitant around little kids but for some reason he felt comfortable with Trevor.

Callie's heart melted like butter watching her future husband with Trevor. She could tell he was going to be a wonderful father someday. She couldn't wait to marry him.

"Come on, Frank, you can sit with me and Joe too." Trevor said as he released Frank from the hug. He put his little hand into Frank's hand, and then turns to Joe, "Come on Joe!" The little boy beckon Joe with his finger to follow them.

"Yeah, come on, slow poke!" Frank called out to Joe as Trevor started pulling him towards the picnic area.

"Slow poke! I'll show you slow poke!" Joe shot back with laughter as he rushed to catch up to his brother and the little boy as fast as he could on his crutches towards the picnic area.

"Oh, yes, Pete, like I said, I can relate about your son being a ball of energy." Fenton shook his head. "Not even crutches can slow him down."

By the time Laura and Gertrude returned from their walk everyone was back at the picnic area, either sitting on blankets on the ground, or at the picnic table. After the earlier events both women were surprised to find everyone again laughing and joking around with each other. They were especially surprised to see their friends Pete and Lindsey McNeely sitting at a table. And then their eyes landed on Callie and Vanessa at another table with Frank and Joe sitting on the other side with seven-year-old Trevor McNeely between them laughing and eating hot dogs.

This was a much different scene than what they saw earlier, Laura and Gertrude immediately found Fenton at the grill placing grilled hot dogs on a plate, they demanded to know what was going on and what happened between him and Joe. He placed the hot dogs on the table then discreetly motioned for his wife and sister to follow him away from the group so he could talk to them privately about Joe.

Trevor was enjoying himself as he sat at the picnic table swinging his little legs excitingly. He was having the best day ever; he was eating hot dogs which was his favorite food in the world and he was going to watch the cool fireworks. Plus, His two favorite superheroes were sitting beside him. He was the luckiest guy in the world right now.

Unbeknownst to the group, a dark-haired figure was lurking behind the tall bushes just a few feet away from them. The expression on his face was stone cold as he directed his murderous gaze at the Hardy brothers.


End file.
